Down,  down  floated  the  ice  raft.     Pao-e  250. 


THE 


.  C  E    ]{  AFT 


By 

CLARA    F.    GUERNSEY, 

UF        A    MEUE    PIECE    OF    MISCHIEF;    OB,    AMIEIi'S 
TBOCBLES,"    ''THE    NEW   BOY.  ' 


PHILADELPHIA: 
ALFRED    MART1EN, 

li'14  C!I1>T.\TT  .-TREET. 
1871 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  l^To.  liy 

ALFKKh  MARTIEN. 
In  i!io  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 

aifrrt  jHailirn,  JJriutcr  sriO  5trrrotDptr. 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  I.                              PAGE 
A  HARD  LESSON 5 

CHAPTER  II. 
A  NEW  HOME 17 

CHAPTER  III. 
THE  MAJOR  AT  HOME 31 

CHAPTER   IV. 

THE  TURNING  POINT  REACHED 57 

CHAPTER  V. 
LIFE  IN  THE  FAMILY 93 

CHAPTER  VI. 
CHANGES  AND  IMPROVEMENTS 117 

CHAPTER  VII. 
A  DISCOVERY....  ..140 


622680 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII.  PAGE 

GOING  TO  SCHOOL 157 

CHAPTER   IX. 

SUMMARY  JUSTICE.  175 

CHAPTER  X. 

CHRISTMAS  TIMES 216 

CHAPTER  XL 
A  CONFESSION ...  258 


THE   ICE   RAFT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A      HARD      LESSON. 

jfjjELL,  I  can't  make  head  or  tail  of 
it !  So,  there,  now !"  and  Dick 
Monroe's  Csesar  went  down  on  the 
table  with  a  bang  that  loosened  the  only 
remaining  cover  of  that  much  abused 
volume. 

"  But,  Dick,  I  am  sure  you  can  trans- 
late  that  passage   if  you   only  try,   after 
what  I  have  told  you,  and  with  the  notes, 
i*  5 


D  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

too,"  said  his  sister,  whose  patience  Dick 
had  kept  on  the  full  strain  the  whole 
morning. 

"I  didn't  understand  a  word  of  what 
you  said,"  snapped  Master  Dick,  and 
he  spoke  the  truth,  for  he  had  resolutely 
refused  his  attention  during  the  whole 
explanation  in  one  of  those  extraordinary 
spasms  of  perversity,  to  which  boys  and 
girls  of  his  sort  are  subject. 

"0,  Dick!"  cried  Diana,  "why,  Anne 
made  it  as  plain — as — as  plain  loaf-cake." 

"0!  of  course  you  understand  it," 
sneered  Dick.  "  What  a  fortunate  being 
I  am  to  have  two  such  learned  sisters. 
Of  course  we  all  know  you  can  read 
Csesar  without  the  lexicon." 

"No  I  can't,"  said  the  literal  Diana. 
"I  have  to  look  for  ever  so  many  words; 
but  that  sentence  is  easy;  I've  got  it 
all  out,  and  I'll  show  you  if  you  like." 


A   HARD    LESSON.  7 

"  You  show  me,  indeed  !"  retorted  Dick, 
scornfully.  "A  likely  story,  \ou've  got 
it  out  right  and  I  hav'nt." 

It  was  a  very  likely  story,  for  Diana 
was  eager  to  learn  and  attentive,  and 
Dick  was  careless  and  perverse;  and, 
as  a  natural  consequence,  he  was  often 
in  the  wrong  when  his  sister  was  right. 
But,  though  such  was  the  case  at  least 
three  times  a  week,  Dick  was  firmly 
convinced  that  he  was  immensely  Diana's 
superior,  by  virtue  of  his  two  years' 
seniority. 

"  But  I'm  sure  I  am  right,"  persisted 
Diana ;  "  and,  if  I'm  not,  maybe  you  can 
say  where  I'm  wrong." 

"  It's  not  your  business  to  teach  me," 
said  Dick,  growing  crosser  and  Grosser. 

"  Do  let  Diana  look  it  over  with  you, 
dear,"  said  patient,  long-suffering  Anne, 
exercising  much  more  forbearance  than 


8  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

Dick  deserved.  "  I  must  go  now,  for 
I  promised  aunt  to  write  some  letters -for 
her  in  time  for  the  afternoon  mail.  I  am 
sure  a  little  thought  will  show  you,  and  I 
have  translated  it  for  you  once." 

"  I  don't  believe  you  had  it  right,"  mut- 
tered Dick,  obstinately,  to  himself;  but  he 
condescended,  ungraciously  enough,  to  let 
Diana  reopen  the  Caesar,  and  begin  to 
translate  the  passage  over  which  he  had 
worried  and  fretted  for  the  last  half-hour, 
rather  enjoying  the  time  himself,  but 
teasing  Anne  till  she  was  just  ready  to 
cry. 

"  When  he  had  gone  forward  or 
inarched,"  began  Diana. 

"  I'd  like  to  know  how  you  make 
'  when '  ?"  said  Dick,  scornfully. 

"  Why,  '  cum,'  of  course." 

"Just  as  if  I  didn't  know  it  meant 
'with.'" 


A  HARD   LESSON.  9 

"  It  means  l  when/  too,"  asserted  Diana, 
"only  sometimes  they  write  it  with  a 
Why,  Dick,  you  know  it  does." 

"  I  don't  care,  I  don't  believe  it," 
persisted  Dick ;  though  he  had  seen  the 
moment  after  speaking  that  Diana  was 
right. 

"Look  in  the  lexicon  then,  for  your- 
self." 

Dick  took  the  lexicon  and  began  to 
pore  over  it,  as  if  in  intense  study. 
"  Why  look  here,  Di,"  he  said  suddenly, 
as  if  making  a  discovery;  "it  means  by 
the  time  he  had  gone  forward,  when  he 
had- " 

"  That's  just  what  I  said." 

"  1  didn't  understand  yo"u,"  said  Dick, 
who  would  have  missed  his  lesson  ten 
times  over,  rather  than  confess  that  he 
was  indebted  to  his  sister  for  an  idea. 
"  You  said  it  meant,  '  with  ' " 


10  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

"0,  Dick!  what  a  story!"  said  Diana, 
laughing ;  "  but  never  mind.  Go  on." 

"  Go  on  yourself,"  answered  Dick 
shortly,  staring  out  of  the  window  at  the 
old  red  cow  in  the  field  opposite,  and 
then  lazily  glancing  at  his  book. 

"It  was  told  to  him  that  Arioustus 
with  all  his  forces " 

"  There !  I  said  you  called  '  cum '  <  with'," 
cried  Dick  triumphantly. 

"  But  it  does  mean  '  with '  there,"  said 
Diana. 

"  If  it  means  '  with'  there,  then  it  does 
in  the  other  place,  too,"  persisted  Dick, 
changing  his  base  with  rapidity. 

"  Didn't  you  just  look  it  up  yourself  in 
the  lexicon  ?"  said  Diana. 

"  Yes,  and  didn't  it  mean  ( when '  ?" 
answered  Dick.  "  So  there  now  !" 

"  I  declare  Dick  you  are  too  bad,"  cried 
Diana,  indignantly.  "  I  should  think  you 


A   HARD   LESSON.  11 

would  feel  ashamed  to  waste  your  time  so 
uselessly."  This  was  an  uncommonly 
severe  speech  for  Diana,  who  was  not  apt 
to  take  offence  or  to  give  it. 

"  Well,  you  puzzle  me  so,  saying  some- 
times one  thing,  and  then  another,  I  can't 
tell  what  you  mean  at  all.  I  wish  I  could 
go  to  school  to  a  man  that  knew  Latin 
thvrqwghty"  said  Dick,  beginning  his  speech 
with  a  whine,  and  ending  it  in  self-conse- 
quence. 

"  I'm  sure  I  wish  you  could  for  Anne's 
sake,"  answered  Diana,  regaining  her  good 
humor  in  some  measure;  "but  if  you 
went  on  at  school  is  you  do  at  home  you'd 
catch  it,  I  know.  Why  John  Graham  told 
me  that  Mr.  Lyon  in  the  academy 
wouldn't  stand  anything." 

"  I  should  be  with  my  equals  there  at 
any  rate,"  said  Dick  loftily. 

"  I    dare    say,"    said    Diana   provoked. 


12  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

"John  told  me  there  was  a  boy  there  who 
translated  '  cum  omnibus  copiis,'  '  with  all 
his  forces  in  an  omnibus.' " 

"  You  needn't  help  me  'any  more,  Miss 
Di,"  said  Dick,  who,  like  most  "teases," 
could  not  bear  a  word  himself,  and  was 
seriously  angry.  "  I'll  do  my  own  lesson, 
thank  you." 

"  0,  come,  now  !"  coaxed  Diana  ;  "  don't 
be  put  out — I  didn't  mean  any  harm." 

"I  don't  choose  to  be  insulted,"  replied 
Dick,  with  what  was  meant  for  majesty, 
but  had  the  air  of  sulks. 

"  Nonsense  !  Come,  let's  read  it  over 
together.  It's  real  interesting  here." 

"  Interesting  !"  sneered  Dick.  "  I'm 
sure  I  don't  see  the  interest." 

"  0,  Dick  !  Why,  he  is  telling  his  own 
story ;  and,  when  you  think  it  is  Julius 
Caesar's  own  self  that  is  speaking,  I  love 
to  read  it  only  for  that." 


A   HARD   LESSON.  13 

"Absurd  affectation!  Really,  Diana, 
your  airs  are  intolerable  !" 

"  Well,  I  do  take  an  interest  in  it, 
Dick,"  said  Diana,  humbly,  and  feeling 
herself  rather  a  silly  person  for  so  doing. 
"  I  do  so  love  stories  about  real,  live 
people." 

"  I  read  Latin  for  the  mental  discipline, 
and  not  for  stories,"  answered  Dick,  with 
an  air  of  superiority.  "  Osborne  Briggs 
says  any  one  can  be  a  glib  reader." 

"  It's  more  than  he  is,  then,"  said 
Diana,  "  or  you  either,"  she  thought,  but 
she  wisely  kept  the  thought  to  herself. 

"  He  is  a  thorough  scholar,"  said  Dick, 
growing  more  and  more  majestic.  "He 
began  his  education  in  an  English  school." 

"  He's  no  great  credit  to  it,  any  way," 
replied  Diana.  "  He's  at  the  bottom  of 
his  class  in  the  academy.  John  told  me 
so." 


14  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

"John  is  jealous  of  him." 

"  What  for,  I  wonder,"  laughed  Diana. 
"But  come,  Dick,  don't  let's  contradict 
each  other.  Do  go  over  this  with  me 
before  Anne  comes.  She's  so  tired." 

But  Dick  would  not  consent  to  accept 
his  sister's  help ;  and,  after  a  vain  attempt 
to  conciliate  him,  Diana  put  away  her 
books  and  went  to  her  practice. 

On  his  sister's  return,  Dick  scolded 
and  fretted  and  blundered  through  the 
chapter,  which  had  formed  his  morning's 
lesson,  teasing  poor  Anne  almost  into  a 
fit  of  crying,  and  taking  a  certain  foolish 
pleasure  in  seeing  her  discomfort,  and 
hearing  the  nervous  quiver  in  her  voice. 

"Dear  Dick,"  said  Anne,  when  the 
lesson  was  finally  ended,  "  why  do  you 
like  to  tease  me  so?" 

"  If  I  don't  know  Latin  by  instinct, 
I  can't  help  it,"  said  Dick,  sulkily. 


A   HARD   LESSON.  15 

"But  that  is  not  the  matter/'  .said 
Anne,  gently.  "You  don't  try  to  Iparn, 
I  am  afraid." 

"If  I  don't  understand,  you,  I  can't 
help  that,  either.  You  haven't  the  right 
method  of  teaching,"  replied  the  boy,  with 
an  injured  air. 

"  Are  you  sure  you  have  the  right  way 
of  learning?" 

"  0  dear  !  Anne,  don't  lecture,"  snapped 
Dick.  "Of  course  I'm  the  worst  boy  in 
the  world  ;  of  course  everything's  all  my 
fault.  I'm  sick  and  tired  of  it  all.  I  do 
wish  Will  would  send  me  to  school.  I'm 
sick  of  home  and  everything  in  it,"  and 
Dick  flung  out  of  the  room,  banging  the 
door  behind  him. 

Anne  laid  her  head  on  the  desk  and 
cried  bitterly.  She  was  not  angry,  this 
soft,  long-suffering  Anne,  but  she  was  hurt 
and  wounded  to  the  very  heart. 


16  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

"0  dear!  what  shall  I  do  !"  she  sobbed. 
"  It  igets  worse  and  worse,  and  nothing  I 
can  say  to  him  will  be  of  any  use." 

Anne  was  quite  right.  Dick  had  come 
to  that  pass  where  things  said  to  him  had 
no  effect  whatever,  and  when  he  stood  in 
great  need  of  having  something  done  to 
him. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A      NEW      HOME. 

'HE  parents  of  Anne,  Dick  and  Diana 
Monroe  died  some  years  before  my 
story  opened,  leaving  Dick  and  Diana 
to  Anne's  care  and  the  guardianship  of 
their  elder  brother,  Major  William  Monroe 
of  the  United  States  Army. 

Major  Monroe  and  Anne  were  twin 
brother  and  sister,  very  much  alike  in 
appearance,  and  very  unlike  in  character. 
Anne  was  patient,  forbearing,  sweet- 
tempered,  almost  to  a  fault,  and  the  Major 
was  said  by  those  who  knew  him  to  be  a 
man  who  would  stand  no  nonsense. 
2*  17 


18  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

Nevertheless  his  men  liked  him  with 
all  their  hearts,  and  were  ready  to  follow 
him  to  the  death. 

On  the  Western  frontier,  and  among 
soldiers,  that  phrase  has  a.  real  meaning. 
All  unprotected  women,  children,  and 
dogs  appealed  to  him  for  help,  and  never 
in  vain. 

As  for  Anne  her  heart  was  bound  up 
with  her  brother,  and  Diana  and  Dick 
believed  that  never  since  the  days  of 
Bayard  and  Sir  Philip  Sydney  had  there 
been  such  a  hero  as  their  Will. 

The  home  of  an  officer  in  the  United 
States  cavalry  service  is  said  to  be  "  all 
out  West,  and  nowhere  in  particular,"  but 
the  Major  still  called  Darton,  where  he 
had  been  born,  his  home.  There  his 
sister  Anne  kept  house  in  the  homestead, 
with  her  younger  brother  and  sister. 

Darton   was  a   college    town,    a   quiet, 


A    NEW    HOME.  19 

pleasant,  sleepy  comfortable  old  place  in 
Central  New  York.  The  college  buildings 
were  three  four-story  factory-like  erections 
of  red  brick,  and  one  Grecian  temple  of 
the  white  pine  order;  but  they  were  just 
as  dear  to  the  eyes  of  the  alumni  when 
they  came  back,  as  if  they  had  been  of 
the  most  modest  of  architecture.  There 
were  many  gentlemen  scattered  from 
Maine  to  California  who  would  have 
regretted  to  see  the  old  houses  replaced  by 
the  most  elegant  modern  Gothic  structures. 
There  were  arches  and  spires  and  pinna- 
cles in  the  grand  elms  and  oaks  and 
maples  that  shaded  the  grounds,  and  if 
new  colleges  had  been  built  some  of  the 
trees  must  have  been  removed  to  make 
room. 

In  Darton  Mr.  Monroe  had  been  Pro- 
fessor of  Ancient  Languages.  He  had 
originally  intended  that  his  elder  son 


20  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

should  some  time  hold  a  place  in  his 
beloved  college,  and  had  begun  his  edu- 
cation with  that  end  in  view.  But  Wil- 
liam went  to  West  Point,  and  it  remained 
to  educate  Anne.  He  had  taught  her 
exactly  as  he  would  have  taught  his 
son,  and  she  was  a  very  good,  classical 
scholar. 

Dick,  when  a  child,  had  been  very 
sickly  and  delicate,  too  much  so  to  go 
to  school.  He  had  learned  when  he 
could,  and  what  lie  could;  and,  as  he 
grew  older,  Anne  still  shrank  from  send- 
ing him  "among  other  boys,"  of  whom 
slie  was  somewhat  afraid. 

Major  Monroe  was  at  home  only  at 
long  intervals,  and  for  a  few  weeks  at 
a  time,  and  his  visits  were  holidays  to 
the  whole  family. 

He  did  not  remember  that  his  little 
brother  was  growing  to  be  a  big  boy. 


A    NEW    HOME.  21 

He  bad  the  greatest  confidence  in  his 
sister's  judgment,  and  was  very  proud  of 
her  acquirements. 

Anne  was  so  far  from  the  popular 
idea  of  "  a  learned  lady/'  that  Diana 
said  "  the  one  aim  of  her  life  was  to 
conceal  the  fact  that  she  knew  how  to 
read."  Nevertheless  she  was  spoken  of 
scornfully  as  "a  blue,"  in  consequence 
of  which  many  people  were  afraid  of 
her,  though  a  more  innocent  feminine 
creature  than  Anne  Monroe  did  not 
exist. 

She  had  her  own  little  society  of  those 
whose  tastes  were  similar  to  her  own, 
and  for  the  most  part  she  led  a  very 
calm,  happy  life. 

Six  months,  however,  before  our  story 
opens,  the  greater  part  of  the  Monroe 
property  had  gone  in  the  wreck  of  a 
bank,  where  it  had  been  placed  just  for 


22  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

a  few  days,  while  the  family  lawyer 
was  waiting  to  find  a  good  investment. 

There  was  left  to  them  their  large, 
handsome  old  house  in  Darton,  about 
a  hundred  dollars  a  year,  and  Major 
Monroe's  pay.  The  Major,  fortunately, 
was  at  home  on  a  flying  visit  when 
the  crash  came. 

He  and  Anne  together  decided  that 
they  would  not  sell,  but  rent  the  house, 
and  would  find,  for  the  present,  some 
cheaper  home. 

In  this  state  of  affairs,  however,  their 
aunt,  Mrs.  Bland,  wrote  and  asked  them 
nil  to  come  to  her.  She  had  a  large 
house  about  a  mile  from  Men  an  go,  a 
handsome  income,  and  she  would  take 
care  of  her  brother's  children.  The  offer 
of  a  home  the  Major  accepted,  but  he 
would  not  let  "  his  family  "  be  dependent 
upon  their  aunt. 


A    NEW    HOME.  23 


He  insisted  on  paying  their  board  at 
a  rate  which  obliged  him  to  wear  his 
old  clothes  till  they  showed  service,  and 
to  give  up  smoking,  which  was  a  good 
thing,  and  to  deny  himself  many  little 
luxuries  to  which  he  had  been  accus- 
tomed. Anne  cried  when  her  brother 
wore  his  old  uniform  instead  of  ordering 
a  new  one,  and  shed  tears  into  his  empty 
cigar  box,  which  she  put  away  as  a 
precious  relic,  and  thought  her  Will  the 
most  self-sacrificing  of  men  and  majors. 
She  would  hardly  heave  been  consoled 
had  she  known  that  Mrs.  Bland  regularly 
put  away  to  the  Major's  credit  the  sum 
paid  her  for  board,  and  that  she,  Diana 
and  Dick  were  really  having  their  cake, 
and  eating  it,  too.  It  had  been  a  cold, 
rainy  day  in  March  when  the  Monroes 
left  the  train  at  Menango.  Anne  looked 
about  for  her  aunt,  while  the  Major 


24  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

collected  the  trunks.  Mrs.  Bland  was 
no  where  to  be  seen,  but  a  very  tall 
and  old  colored  man  oame  forward  and 
asked  respectfully  if  this  lady  was  Miss 
Monroe — saying  that  he  had  been  sent 
with  the  carriage  to  meet  the  party. 

The  carriage  was  large,  rather  ancient 
and  shabby,  and  drawn  by  a  pair  of  white 
horses,  who  were  too  old  and  too  fat  to  go 
more  than  four  miles  an  hour. 

"Can  you  drive  a  little  faster?"  said 
Major  Monroe  to  Simeon. 

"Laws,  Massa!"  replied  Simeon,  "these 
horses  don't  ever  go  very  fast ;  you  see  they 
and  me's  growed  old  together.  They's 
fourteen  years  old  them  horses  is,"  said 
Simeon,  with  great  satisfaction  in  his  tone. 

"  I  wonder  if  he's  fourteen,"  whispered 
Diana  to  Dick,  who  exploded  into  a  laugh, 
which  Simeon  caught. 

"  No,  Missy,  I's  sixty-four.     I  was  all 


A    NEW    HOME.  25 

through  the  last  war,  and  was  at  New 
Orleans  when  they  took  the  British,  long 
with  Captain  Bland,"  said  Simeon  with 
pride. 

Simeon  liked  to  tell  the  story,  and  the 
Major  liked  to  hear,  which  he  had  plenty 
of  time  to  do  as  they  jogged  along.  They 
passed  through  the  streets  of  Menango, 
which  were  rather  narrow  and  muddy ; 
they  crossed  the  long  covered  bridge  over 
the  river  and  turned  eastward  along  its 
bank,  until  about  a  mile  from  the  bridge, 
they  came  to  Mrs.  Eland's  house.  It  was 
a  large,  old-fashioned  dwelling  of  red 
brick,  mellowed  in  its  redness  by  time 
and  weather,  with  faded  green  blinds,  and 
a  heavy  porch  over  the  door.  In  the  open 
doorway  stood  Mrs.  Bland,  having  come 
so  far  from  the  fire  by  a  great  exertion  to 
meet  her  nephews  and  nieces.  She  was  a 
pretty,  plump  old  lady  with  soft  curls  of 


26  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

grey  hair  inside  her  cap,  and  a  soft  grey 
dress  and  shawl.  The  major  was  shocked 
to  find  himself  inwardly  likening  his  aunt 
to  a  little,  fat  merino  lamb,  which  he  had 
seen  at  a  county  fair. 

"You  are  welcome,  dears,"  said  .Mrs. 
Bland  in  a  soft  tone,  which  brought 
the  little  lamb  still  more  clearly  to  the 
Major's  mind.  "  I  haven't  seen  3-011  since 
you  were  a  year  old,  Will.  Dear  me ! 
How  you  have  grown." 

This  remark  set  off  Diana  and  Dick 
into  fits  of  half  suppressed  laughter,  so 
that  when  brought  forward  to  their  aunt 
they  were  giggling  disgracefully. 

"Dear  little  things,"  said  Mrs.  Bland, 
kissing  them  affectionately.  "This  is 
Puchard,  and  this  is  Diana.  Why,  Diana, 
my  dear,  you  don't  look  at  all  like  me, 
and  yet  you  were  named  after  me.  It's 
very  odd !"  added  Mrs.  Bland,  mildly. 


A    NEW  HOME.  27 

"I  thought  your  name  was  Sophy," 
Diana  managed  to  say  with  tolerable  com- 
posure, while  Dick  grew  suddenly  sober  in 
obedience  to  his  brother's  glance.  "  That's 
my  second  name,  dear;  Diana  Sophonisba 
my  mother  called  me.  It  was  too  long  to 
use,  so  they  called  me  Sophy." 

No  one  ever  could  have  addressed  Mrs. 
Bland  as  Diana.  There  was  such  utter 
incongruity  between  the  name  and  the 
person,  but  Sophy  exactly  suited. 

"And  now  go  up-stairs,  my  dears,  and 
take  off  your  things,"  said  Mrs.  Bland, 
leading  them  into  the  wide  hall.  "  I 
told  Patty  to  be  sure  and  have .  good 
fires  in  all  your  rooms.  Do  you  like  a 
good  fire,  Anne,  love  ?"  asked  Mrs.  Bland. 

"  Very  much,  Aunt  Sophy,"  said  Anne, 
who,  while  her  parents  were  living,  had 
made  two  or  three  visits  to  her  aunt's 
house. 


28  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

"You  are  a  great  deal  more  like  me 
than  your  sister,"  said  Mrs.  Bland,  de- 
taining her,  and  patting  her  hand  softly. 
"A  great  deal  more,  because  you  are 
fair  and  have  light  hair,  and  Diana's  is 
dark — and  yet  she  was  named  after  me, 
you  know — it's  very  odd  !" 

"  Diana  is  like  her  mother,"  said  Anne. 

"Ah,  yes — and  she  was  no  relation 
to  me.  Perhaps  that  accounts  for  it," 
said  Mrs.  Bland,  in  a  musing  tone. 
"Shouldn't  you  think  so,  Will?" 

"  I  should  think  it  very  likely,"  said 
the  Major,  gravely,  whereupon  Dick  and 
Diana,  who  had  paused  on  the  landing- 
place,  turned  and  fled  swiftly  up-stairs, 
and  a  sound  came  from  above,  as  of 
two  young  people  trying  to  choke  them- 
selves. 

The  Major  and  Anne  followed  them, 
and  were  met  at  the  top  of  the  stairs 


A   NEW   HOME.  29 

by  a  verv  respectable-looking  old  colored 
woman,  who  showed  the  girls  to  their 
room,  while  a  younger  man  —  her  son 
and  Simeon's — attended  the  Major  and 
Dick. 

Primus  was  hardly  out  of  the  room 
before  Dick's  laugh  exploded. 

"  Well,  young  man,"  said  the  Major, 
laughing  himself,  "what  is  that  for?" 

"  She — she  said  you'd  grown." 

"  Well !  so  I  have.  Most  people  do 
between  one  and  thirty-one." 

"  And  she  seemed  to  think  Di  must 
look  like  her  because  she  was  named 
for  her.  Whatever  could  have  made 
any  one  call  her  Diana!  but  Sophonisba 
just  suits  her." 

"  See  here,  Dick,"  said  the  Major ; 
"  aunt  is  as  good  and  kind  as  she  can 
be,  and  you  must  never  laugh  at  her 
little  ways;  or,  if  you  are  amused  some 

3* 


30  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

times,  keep  it  to  yourself.  If  you  ever 
laugh  in  the  house,  see  that  you  never 
do  out." 

"  Of  course  not." 

"She  has  lived  very  much  by  herself, 
and  in  that  way  people  usually  get  habits 
that  seem  singular  to  others.  But,  re- 
member, I  shall  be  very  much  displeased 
if  you  ever  make  what  she  says  or  does 
a  subject  of  ridicule." 

"Of  course  I  won't,  Will,"  said  Dick, 
rather  annoyed.  "  See  what  a  nice  big 
fire  in  the  fireplace,  and  what  a  queer  old 
room.  Look  at  these  funny  curly-tailed 
monsters  on  the  mantlepiece.  Dragons 
with  butterflies  painted  all  over  them." 

"  Never  mind  exploring  your  quarters 
now,"  said  the  Mnjor.  "Aunt  will  be 
waiting  tea  for  us,  and  you  will  barely 
have  time  to  get  the  cinders  out  of  your 
hair." 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE      MAJOR      AT      HOME. 

dj  FTER  Will  had  gone  and  Anne  had 
Ml   fairly    become    settled    in    her    new 

^•vf  \y 

J  home,  it  must  be  confessed  that  life 
to  her  became  rather  tiresome.  Mrs. 
Eland's  house,  though  perfectly  comfor- 
table, and  in  some  respects  luxurious,  was 
a  dull  place.  The  whole  place  had  a  grey, 
faded  look,  not  at  all  that  of  poverty;  but 
carpets,  and  curtains,  and  paper  had  grown 
dim  and  dark  together,  and  Mrs.  Bland 
had  never  thought  of  renewing  them. 
The  two  great  parlors  were  shut  up,  and 
were  only  opened  to  be  dusted  and  swept. 

31 


32  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

Mrs.  Bland  lived  in  a  smaller  back  room, 
from  which  her  bedroom  opened,  and  kept 
the  two  at  a  temperature  of  about  seventy- 
five  degrees,  from  the  first  chill  day  in 
September  till  warm  weather  was  fairly 
established  in  June.  Mrs.  Bland  never 
did  anything  but  make  a  little  tetting 
occasionally,  when  she  felt  particularly 
industrious.  She  left  the  house  to  Patty 
and  Primus,  and  the  outdoors  and  the 
stable  to  Simeon,  while  she  sat  and  looked 
at  the  fire  in  winter,  and  the  wall  in 
summer ;  that  is,  at  such  times  as  she  was 
awake,  for  she  slept  almost  as  much  as  a 
dormouse. 

Her  conversation,  if  such  it  could  be 
called,  was  of  the  mildest  quality,  per- 
fectly inoffensive  but  not  enlivening.  She 
would  get  hold  of  some  small  subject  in 
the  morning,  and  would  keep  it  up  at 
intervals  all  day  long,  coming  out  with 


THE    MAJOR    AT    HOME.  33 

it  from  time  to  time  hours  after  her 
listener  thought  it  finally  dismissed.  On 
Monday  morning  she  fell  to  thinking, 
whether  the  lace  on  Anne's  cap,  which 
she  had  worn  when  a  baby,  was  Brussels 
or  English  thread.  Anne  not  being  able 
to  settle  the  point  to  her  satisfaction,  she 
talked  about  it  at  intervals  until  Tuesday 
night.  There  is  no  telling  how  much 
longer  she  might  have  discussed  the 
maker,  if  Diana  had  not  rummaged  among 
her  sister's  laces  and  produced  a  baby's 
cap,  which  she  confidently  affirmed  must 
have  been  Anne's,  and  which  was  trimmed 
with  Valenciennes. 

Now  and  then  when  the  weather  was 
fine,  Mrs.  Bland  would  drive  for  a  mile  or 
two,  always  at  the  same  jog  rate,  and 
always  by  the  same  road.  The  carriage, 
however,  was  at  Anne's  service  whenever 
she  chose  to  use  it,  and  when  the  weather 


34  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

grow  finer  she  used  to  take  many  long 
ricles  with  the  children,  Simeon  or  Primus 
being  always  ready  for  such  an  excursion. 
These  expeditions  were  Anne's  only  amuse- 
ment. 

Mrs.  Bland  seldom  received  visits,  and 
still  more  seldom  made  them.  Once  in  a 
while  she  went  out  to  tea,  and  occasionally 
had  a  tea  party  herself.  Anne  missed 
her  old  friends  sadly.  She  could  not  sew 
always.  She  bad  fewer  books  to  read 
than  ever  before,  though  she  found  herself 
caring  less  for  her  books,  as  there  was 
no  one  who  shared  her  own  tastes  with 
whom  she  could  exchange  a  word. 

She  went  to  church,  and  the  clergyman 
and  his  wife  called  upon  her,  and  she 
returned  the  call.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leslie 
were  pleasant  people,  and  at  the  parsonage 
Anne  felt  more  at  home  than  any  where 
else  in  Menango.  Her  unhappy  reputation 


THE    MAJOR    AT    HOME.  35 

as  "  a  learned  lady  "  had  followed  her,  and 
though  she  never  made  the  least  display 
of  her  acquirements,  the  ladies  of  her 
aunt's  circle  rather  looked  down  upon  her, 
and  firmly  believed  her  incapable  of 
making  a  pudding.  Dick  and  Diana  were 
never  dull.  They  had  the  river  to  sail 
in ;  the  wood  lot  on  the  hill  to  play  in ;  a 
big  garret  full  of  old  trunks  and  boxes  for 
rainy  days;  a  dog  to  rim  races  with,  and 
Simeon  to  tell  them  stories  when  their 
lessons  were  done. 

They  had  a  playmate,  too,  in  John 
Graham,  who  was  boarding  at  the  par- 
sonage, and  going  to  school.  John's  full 
name  was  Washington,  but  he  was  never 
called  by  it.  He  was  a  bright,  good 
natured,  curly  headed  Western  boy,  of 
Dick's  own  age,  and  he  and  Diana  were 
very  good  friends.  Mrs.  Bland  never 
cared  what  the  children  did,  or  how  much 


36  THE    TCE    RAFT. 

noise  they  made.  She  told  Patty  always 
to  keep  cake  on  the  pantry  where  the 
children  could  help  themselves,  and 
having  given  this  order  she  troubled  her- 
self no  more  about  them,  except  that  she 
now  and  then  sent  to  town  for  great 
parcels  of  candy,  and  gave  them  each  a 
handsome  present  on  their  birthdays.  As 
might  be  expected  Aunt  Sophy  was 
approved  of  by  Dick  and  Diana. 

For  the  first  three  months  matters  went 
on  with  the  children's  lessons  much  as 
they  had  at  home  in  Darton.  Diana  was 
sometimes  lazy,  and  Dick  sometimes 
inattentive  and  careless,  but  on  the  whole 
they  had  taken  pains  and  made  progress. 
After  a  time,  however,  matters  began  to 
go  badly  with  Dick.  He  entertained 
enlarged  ideas  of  his  own  consequence, 
and  began  to  think  that  he  was  not 
appreciated  as  he  should  be  by  Anne  and 


THE    MAJOR   AT    HOME.  37 

Diana.  lie  took  less  pains  with  his  work ; 
made  a  show  of  caring  nothing  for  what 
he  was  doing;  talked  much  about  "hum- 
bugs," without  suspecting  he  was  in  a  fair 
way  to  become  one  himself,  and  took  more 
pains  not  to  understand  his  lessons  than 
would  have  sufficed  to  learn  them  twice 
over.  He  treated  Anne  with  disrespect ; 
he  affected  to  despise  Diana's  companion- 
ship, and  made  himself  disagreeable  as 
only  a  perverse  boy  can  do.  He  put  on 
airs  of  superiority  towards  John,  at  which 
that  young  gentleman  only  laughed,  and 
he  made  friends  with  Osborne  Briggs  whom. 
Diana  detested. 

Mr.  Briggs  lived  at  a  farm  house  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  Mrs.  Bland. 
He  was  an  Englishman,  who  having 
been  in  the  country  only  two  years,  had 
not  recovered  from  his  surprise  at  own- 
ing his  own  land.  The  Brings'  family 


00  THE   ICE    EAFT. 

believed  themselves  to  be  people  of 
great  consequence ;  but  were  always  in 
an  agony  for  fear  some  one  would  look 
down  upon  them. 

Mr.  Briggs  was  very  angry  because 
Mrs.  Bland  had  never  called  upon  his 
wife.  The  old  carriage  and  the  two 
white  horses  never  passed  him  that  he 
did  not  regard  them  with  a  scornful  and 
defiant  air,  and  make  some  indignant 
remarks  about  "  aristocrats,"  "  stuck  up 
gentility,"  and  the  like,  which  were  all 
thrown  away  upon  innocent  Aunt  Sophy. 
Osborne  was  a  tall,  awkward,  white-faced 
boy  of  sixteen. 

He  did  not  go  to  school,  for  his  parents 
thought  the  district  school  beneath  him, 
and  he  himself  .said  he  had  tried  the 
academy,  but  it  was  not  quite  up  to  his 
mark.  He  managed  to  acquire  a  great 
influence  over  Dick,  and  the  two  boys 


THE    MAJOR    AT    HOME.  39 

did  each  other  no  good.  Osborne  told 
Dick  wonderful  stories  about  his  school 
in  England,  and  the  way  in  which  big 
boys  were  allowed  to  abuse  little  ones. 
Dick  supposing  himself  to  be  a  big  boy, 
thought  all  this  very  fine,  and  cared  less 
for  his  old  pursuits  and  his  books,  and 
his  little  sister.  Osborne  told  him  he 
would  never  be  a  man  if  he  was  always 
around  with  a  little  girl  like  Diana,  and  a 
"  milk  sop "  like  John ;  out  of  whose 
way  he  himself  was  very  c;ireful  to  keep, 
for  private  reasons  of  his  own.  lie 
sneered  at  Dick's  love  and  respect  for  his 
brother,  and  Dick  began  to  be  rather 
ashamed  of  his  old  devotion  to  Will. 
He  spoke  scornfully  of  Anne's  teaching, 
and  declared  it  impossible  that  a  woman 
could  know  Latin,  and  said  he  should 
like  to  see  himself  learning  anything 
from  an  old  maid. 


40  THE  ICE  HAFT. 

Dick,  at  first,  was  provoked  at  this 
talk,  but  he  was  ashamed  of  his  better 
feelings;  and,  at  length,  came  to  believe 
it,  and  to  look  down  upon  his  sister, 
and  to  wrong  her  in  every  way  his 
perversity  could  suggest. 

He  left  off  saying  his  prayers  at  night, 
for  he  wasn't  going  to  be  like  a  good 
little  boy  in  a  Sunday-school  book.  He 
ran  away  from  and  avoided  the  pleasant 
Sunday  afternoon  talk  and  reading  with 
his  sisters,  in  which  he  had  formerly 
taken  pleasure ;  and,  what  was  perhaps 
worst  of  all,  he  read,  on  the  sly,  what 
were  really  bad  books,  books  in  which 
the  heroes  were  all  highwaymen  and 
pirates,  and  worse,  where  things  degrad- 
ing, wicked  and  shameless  were  made 
to  appear  manly  and  fine.  Some  of 
these  works  came  from  Osbome,  some 
were  bought  secretly  with  Dick's  own 


THE    MAJOR   AT   HOME.  41 

money.  He  revolted  from  them  at  first, 
but  gradually,  as  he  persisted,  he  came 
to  feel  the  fascination  which  such  books 
sometimes  seem  to  possess.  After  Jack 
Shepherd,  Miss  Edge-worth  and  Sir  Wal- 
ter Scott  seemed  very  tame  and  common- 
place, and  Qsborne  said  that  Robinson 
Crusoe  and  fairy  stones  were  only  fit 
for  girls.  Osborne  could  not  spell,  but 
Dick  was  persuaded  that  his  judgment 
was  correct,  and,  if  he  ever  read  his 
old  favorites,  he  took  care  that  his  new 
friend  should  not  know.  All  this  time 
Dick  was  by  no  means  happy  or  com- 
fortable. He  knew  he  was  doing  wrong ; 
his  conscience  reproved  him.  Anne's 
influence  was  still  over  him,  though  he 
did  his  best  to  shake  it  off.  He  was 
disgusted  and  angry  with  himself  very 
often,  but  then  he  was  persuaded  that 
this  state  of  mind  was  the  fault  of  some 

4* 


42  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

one  else.  He  was  provoked  at  Diana 
because  she  was  fast  going  before  him 
in  their  lessons;  he  was  vexed  at  Anne 
because  his  own  perversity  troubled  her ; 
he  was  angry  at  John  for  liking  to  read 
and  play  with  Diana,  and  he  was  an- 
noyed with  his  aunt's  ways,  and  learned 
to  despise  her  in  spite  of  her  unceasing 
good  nature.  In  short,  he  was  out  of 
patience  with  everything  and  everybody, 
except  the  one  to  blame,  and  that  was 
himself. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  at  the 
time  when  we  first  saw  Dick  fretting 
over  his  book  in  the  large  front  room 
up-stairs,  which  was  used  as  a  school- 
room. 

The  next  morning  brought  a  letter  from' 
the  Major,  and  Anne  had  scarcely  glanced 
at  it  when  her  eye  brightened,  and  she 
cried  out,  joyfully, 


THE   MAJOR    AT   HOME.  43 

"0,  Diana!  Will  is  coming.  He  has 
leave  of  absence  for  six  months.  He'll 
be  here  next  week." 

Diana  jumped  up  from  the  breakfast- 
table,  where  she  had  been  seated,  and 
executed  a  kind  of  fancy  dance  about 
the  room,  crying,  "  good  !  goody  !  0,  how 
delightful!" 

Dick's  first  impulse  had  been  to  hurrah, 
but  he  had  risen  that  morning  in  an 
uncommonly  bad  humor.  He  knew  that 
it  would  vex  his  sisters  if  he  pretended 
not  to  care,  so  he  put  on  a  show  of 
perfect  indifference,  and  went  on  with  his 
break  fast. 

te  My  dear  child !"  said  Mrs.  Bland, 
sweetly,  to  Diana,  "  how  can  you  take 
such  violent  exercise?  I'm  afraid  you 
might  some  time  injure  your  spine,  or 
break  a  blood  vessel  or  something." 

"0,    no    I   sha'n't,  Aunt  Sophy!"  said 


44  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

Diana,  reseating  herself;  "but  Will  don't 
come  home  every  day." 

"My  love,"  said  Mrs.  Bland,  "that 
would  be  impossible,  because  he  has  been 
so  long  in  New  Mexico,  and  it  is  too  far 
away." 

Diana  laughed  a  little,  but  Dick  sneered. 

"But  what  does  he  say?  Read  it, 
Anne." 

"  It's  very  short.  He  only  says  he  has 
not  been  as  well  as  usual,  and  he  has 
asked  for  leave  and  it  has  been  granted. 
I  am  so  glad.  He  lias  never  been  at  home 
so  long." 

"Dick,  don't  you  understand?"  cried 
Diana,  astonished  at  his  coldness.  "  Will 
is  coming  home !" 

"  Yes,  I  hear,"  said  Dick  ungraciously. 
"  What's  the  use  of  making  such  a  fuss  ?" 

"  Why  Dick  Monroe!"  said  Diana,  open- 
ing her  grey  eyes  very  wide. 


THE    MAJOR    AT   HOME.  45 


Anne  sighed.  The  pleasure  was  dashed, 
as  Dick  intended  it  should  be. 

"  What  day  will  he  be  here,  Anne, 
love  ?"  asked  Mrs.  Bland. 

"  Thursday  —  day  after  to-morrow.  He 
stopped  over  a  day  in  St.  Louis  to  rest  and 
see  some  friends." 

"Now,"  said  Mrs.  Bland,  falling  into 
meditation,  "  I  wonder  what  he  would  like 
for  dinner." 

"  0,  Will  is  not  at  all  particular." 

"  But  there  must  be  something  he  likes." 

"  You  are  very  kind,  aunt.  I  think  he 
likes  roast  lamb  as  well  as  anything." 

"  And  peas  —  does  he  like  peas  ?" 

"  I  think  so." 

"  Tell  Patty  to  be  sure  and  have  some 
then.  Anne  what  was  it  your  father  was 
so  fond  of?" 

"  I  don't  remember,  aunt.  Father  was 
rather  indifferent  about  what  he  ate." 


46  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

"No,  but  there  were  some  vegetables 
he  liked  so  much,  some  sort  of  roots." 

"  Some  sort  of  roots  ?"  said  Anne, 
puzzled. 

"  Yes,  dear.  Really  I  wonder  you 
should  not  know,  but  I  suppose  you  never 
had  much  to  do  with  housekeeping,  you 
were  so  fond  of  your  book." 

Anne  blushed  painfully,  and  Diana  ex- 
claimed., "0,  Aunt  Sophy,  Anne  always 
kept  house  beautifully." 

But  Mrs.  Bland  did  not  heed.  She  had 
gone  back  to  her  first  subject. 

"  I  am  sure  it  was  some  kind  of  roots." 

"Rutabaga?"  suggested  Diana. 

"  No,  dear,  not  that ;  but  1  know  he 
thought  a  great  deal  of  them,  for  when 
husband  and  I  were  there,  when  you  and 
Will  were  babies,  dear,  your  father  was  so 
quiet  and  silent  at  dinner,  and  didn't  seem 
to  mind  what  was  said,  and  husband  said 


THE    MAJOR    AT    HOME.  47 

it  must  be  because  he  hadn't  been  able  to 
find  some  Greek  roots." 

Diana  choked  herself  with  her  coffee, 
and  rushed  out  of  the  room.  Dick  looked 
very  contemptuous  and  disagreeable. 
Anne  checked  her  own  amusement  and 
attempted  to  explain  the  mistake ;  but  it 
was  sometime  before  Mrs.  Bland  could  be 
made  to  understand  that  the  roots  in 
question  were  not  vegetables. 

The  Major  came  home  on  Thursday 
in  time  for  dinner,  and  assured  his  aunt, 
greatly  to  her  satisfaction,  that  he  liked 
lamb  and  green  peas  above  all  things. 
When  he  had  time  to  observe  Anne, 
he  could  not  but  think  she  looked  tired 
and  worn ;  and,  seeing  very  clearly  that 
Dick  was  not  altered  for  the  better, 
he  put  the  two  things  together,  and 
quietly  resolved  to  find  out  for  himself 
how  matters  stood.  Anne  made  no  com- 


48  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

plaint  of  him;  nor,  when  asked  how 
the  children  learned  their  lessons,  did 
she  say  anything  more  than  that  Dick 
did  not  seem  to  be  as  much  interested 
as  usual,  but  that  Diana  was  doing 
well,  both  with  her  books  and  her 
music. 

The  day  of  Will's  return  was  a  holi- 
day, but  on  Friday  morning  Anne  called 
the  children  to  the  schoolroom,  as  usual. 
Dick  was  more  than  commonly  perverse 
that  day.  He  felt  ashamed  to  look 
his  brother  in  the  face,  and,  instead  of 
wishing  to  be  with  him  from  morning 
till  night,  as  had  always  been  his  custom 
during  Will's  visits,  he  shrunk  out  of 
his  sight,  and  had  nothing  to  say  but 
"yes"  and  "no"  when  the  Major  spoke 
to  him.  The  first  thing  that  he  had 
done,  after  hearing  that  Will  was  com- 
ing home,  was  to  hide  away,  more  se- 


THE    MAJOR    AT    HOME.  49 

curdy  than  before,  the  books  which  he 
hud  read  of  late,  and  which  he  knew 
very  well  Will  would  never  allow  him 
to  keep.  Will  was  "  so  strict  and  puri- 
tanical," thought  the  silly  boy;  and 
Osborne  said  he  presumed  the  Major  did 
things  on  the  sly  himself,  and  was  a 
very  different  man  in  garrison  from 
what  he*-  wished  to  make  Dick  believe 
him  to  be  at  home.  Osborne  knew 
what  officers  were;  he  had  "seen  the 
world,"  and,  of  all  things,  he  hated  a 
humbug,  who  pretended  to  be  better 
than  other  men,  and  so  did  his  father. 
Mr.  Briggs  made  no  pretensions  to  be  bet- 
ter than  his  neighbors,  arid  could  not  have 
done  so  with  the  least  success. 

Dick  chose  his  arithmetic  this  morn- 
ing to  fight  over.  If  he  had  only 
fought  his  own  wrong  desires,  ill-temper, 
and  Osborne's  bad  influence  as  obstinately 


50  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

as  he  fought  against  understanding  deci- 
mal fractions  what  a  fine  fellow  he  would 
have  been.  It  was  the  more  disgraceful 
as  he  had  been  over  the  arithmetic  once, 
and  the  lesson  was  a  review. 

"Dear  Dick,"  said  Anne,  at  last,  after 
she  had  gone  over  the  explanation  three 
times,  "  I  am  sure  you  must  understand 
this  if  you  will  only  think." 

"  I  don't  understand  one  word  of  it," 
replied  Dick,  who  had  resolutely  closed 
his  ears  to  her.  "  Not  a  word.  If  I 
was  to  work  at  that  sum  till  I  was 
grey  I  couldn't  do  it." 

"  But  you  have  been  over  this  once." 

"  I  don't  care  !  I've  forgotten  all  about 
it;  I  never  do  remember  what  you  tell 
me." 

"  I  am  sure  I  don't  see  how  I  can  make 
it  any  plainer,"  said  Anne,  "but  I  will 
try  if  you  will  listen."  She  began  once 


THE    MAJOR    AT   HOME.  51 

more,  but  stopped  as  she  saw  Dick's  look 
of  inattention. 

"  You  do  not  mind  what  I  say,"  she 
said. 

"  Well,  I  can't  help  it." 

"  Surely  you  can  attend  five  minutes. 
How  are  you  ever  to  learn  anything  if  you 
go  on  in  this  way  ?"  asked  poor  Anne. 

"  I  don't  care  if  I  ever  learn  it  or  not. 
It's  a  humbug,  and  I  don't  see  any  use  m 
arithmetic." 

"  0,  Dick !  for  shame,"  cried  Diana. 
"  No  use  in  arithmetic.  What  nonsense." 

"  You  hold  your  tongue,  Miss,"  retorted 
Dick.  "  I'm  not  going  to  be  talked  to  by 
a  chit  of  girl  like  you,  if  I  do  have  to  be 
lectured  by  an  old  maid  like  Anne  from 
morning  till  night." 

Dick  would  have  given  much  to  recall 
his  words,  as  he  .looked  up  and  saw  the 
Major  standing  in  the  doorway.  Will 


52  THE    ICE   HAFT. 

made  but  one  step,  as  it  seemed,  and  took 
him  by  the  shoulder  with  a  hand  that 
was  both  firm  and  hard. 

"  Ask  your  sister's  pardon  directly,"  he 
said  in  such  a  voice  as  Dick  had  never 
heard  him  use  before.  He  hesitated  a 
moment,  but  the  command  was  empha- 
sized with  a  sudden  shake,  and  Dick  said, 
"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Anne,"  very  meekly. 

"  Now,  take  your  book  and  slate  and 
do  that  sum  in  ten  minutes,  or  you  and  I 
will  have  an  account  to  settle."  Dick 
obeyed  without  a  word.  The  sum  was 
done  before  the  ten  minutes  had  expired. 

"  So,  you  knew  how  to  do  it  all  the 
while?"  said  Major  Monroe. 

Dick  was  silent.  He  was  ashamed  to 
say  "  yes,"  and  he  dared  not  say  "  no." 

Diana  sat  meanwhile  and  looked  on 
with  a  scared  face.  Anne  was  crying 
silently. 


THE    MAJOR    AT    HOME.  53 

"How  many  lies  have  you  told  during 
the  past  half-hour  ?"  questioned  the  Major 
sternly. 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  mean,"  said 
Dick  in  a  low  voice,  for  now  that  he  had 
waked  up  the  commanding  officer  in  his 
good-natured  brother,  he  was  startled  at 
the  change. 

"  I  was  sitting  in  my  room  opposite, 
and  I  could  not  help  hearing  you ;  I  did 
not  speak  at  first,  for  I  thought  you  were 
honestly  dull  and  stupid."  Dick  winced. 
"  But  when  I  heard  your  insolence  to 
Anne,  I  knew  it  was  perversity.  You 
said  over  and  over  again,  that  you  could 
not  do  your  sum  when  you  could,  I  call 
that  lying — very  mean  lying.  In  the 
army  we  deal  with  that  thing  very 
shortly,  and  I  don't  feel  disposed  to  take 
any  longer  method  at  home.  Go  to  my 
room,  and  stay  there  till  I  conic  to  you." 


54  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

Dick  obeyed  without  a  word. 

"  Anne,  my  darling,  don't  cry !"  said 
the  Major,  kissing  her.  "  No  wonder 
you  look  tired  and  worn,  if  this  is  the 
sort  of  thing  you  have  been  going  through 
lately.  It  shu'ii't  happen  again,  if  I  can 
help  it." 

"  He  never  was  so  naughty  before," 
said  Anne.  "I  am  afraid  I  must  be  a 
very  bad  manager,  or  have  failed  in 
my  duty  some  way  of  late,  for  he  has 
changed  so  in  the  last  few  months.  I 
am  so  sorry,  and  yet  I  have  tried, 
Will." 

"  Nonsense !  I  don't  believe  in  the 
theory  that  the  scholar  has  nothing  to 
do  with  his  own  condition,  and  that,  all 
a  boy's  part  is  to  sit  still  and  be  in- 
fluenced and  interested.  You  are  too 
good  to  him,  and  he  wants  a  sound 
thrashing." 


THE   MAJOR    AT    HOME.  55 

"0,  Will!" 

"  You  leave  him  to  me,  my  love ;  I 
won't  hurt  him.  Diana,  dear,  run  down 
to  your  music.  Anne  is  going  to  ride 
with  me,  and  wants  to  put  on  her  habit, 
so  never  mind  the  rest  of  the  lessons." 

Diana  went  down,  but  she  sat  at 
the  piano  and  cried ;  and  it  was  with 
a  sorrowful  heart  that  Anne  dressed  for 
her  ride. 

The  Major  wasted  no  words  on  Dick. 
He  carried  the  school  books  into  his 
own  room,  and  put  them  down  before 
his  brother. 

"You  will  have  your  lessons  done, 
and  ready  to  recite  to  me  when  I  come 
back,"  he  said.  "  Do  you  understand  ?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Dick. 

The  lessons  were  done  in  time,  and 
were  recited  without  any  difficulty,  but 
Dick  did  not  come  down-stairs  till  tea- 


56  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

time.,  and,  during  the  evening,  he  was 
much  more  respectful  and  pleasant  in 
his  manners  than  he  had  been  for  some 
weeks. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE      TURNING      POINT       REACHED. 

HEN  Dick  had  time  to  think  over 
that  morning's  work  he  felt  very 
much  ashamed  of  himself,  and  the 
sensation  was  very  wholesome.  The 
Major's  sudden  sharpness  and  decision 
had  startled  him  out  of  the  ill-humor 
and  laziness  into  which  he  had  fallen; 
and,  when  he  looked  back  over  his  life 
for  the  past  few  months,  he  could  not 
but  suspect  that,  instead  of  being  the 
fine,  manly,  independent  fellow  he  had 
supposed,  he  had,  in  reality,  been  be- 
having much  like  a  cross  baby.  For 

57 


58  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

the  rest  of  that  Aveek  he  recited  his 
lessons  to  his  brother,  and  very  excellent 
recitations  he  made.  The  Major  was 
ready  to  help  him  as  far  as  possible, 
as  long  as  he  saw  that  Dick  really 
tried ;  but  he  would  not  tolerate  lazi- 
ness or  inattention  for  a  moment.  Un- 
der this  drill,  Dick  did  himself  credit; 
and,  as  he  took  more  pains  with  his 
lessons,  he  became  more  interested  in 
his  books.  But  he  could  not  make  up 
all  at  once  the  time  he  had  worse  than 
than  wasted.  He  was  mortified  to  find 
that  Diana  was  the  better  scholar.  Her 
translations  were  undeniably  the  best. 
Her  knowledge  of  the  grammar  was 
more  thorough  than  his  own,  and  she 
could  answer  any  question  that  came 
up  in  their  reading  much  more  readily 
than  himself. 

"How    did   you   know    all    that,    Di  ?" 


THE  TURNING  POINT  REACHED.     59 

asked  Dick  one  morning  when  their 
lessons  were  over.  Some  questions  had 
come  up  about  Charlemagne,  and  to  Dick's 
surprise,  Diana  had  a  long  story  to  tell,  to 
which  Will  had  listened  with  much 
interest,  frankly  owning  that  his  little 
sister  was  better  posted  than  himself. 

"  Why  don't  you  remember  ?"  said 
Diana.  "Anne  told  us  ever  so  much 
about  him,  and  then  she  said  there  was  a 
paper  about  in  one  of  the  old  reviews, 
and  I  found  it  and  read  it.  Wasn't  it  odd 
about  his  learning  to  read  after  he  was 
almost  an  old  man  ?  I  should  think  you'd 
remember  how  he  talked  about  it." 

Dick  did  remember,  but  he  had  reso- 
lutely refused  his  attention,  and  made  a 
show  of  despising  "  Charlemagne  and  all 
his  peerage,"  as  quite  beneath  his  con- 
sideration. 

"John  Graham's  got  a  book  that's  all 


60  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

full  of  translations  from  the  Italian  poets 
about  him — Charlemagne  I  mean,  not 
John.  They  are  as  good  as  the  Arabian 
Nights ;  all  about  how  Astolfo  went  to  the 
moon  on  a  flying  dragon." 

"  My  dear  child,"  said  Mrs.  Bland, 
waking  up  from  her  semi-nap  in  which 
she  had  been  in  the  beginning  of  the  talk, 
"  My  dear  child !  that  sounds  very  im- 
probable." 

"Of  course  they  are  only  stories,  aunt; 
but  I  like  to  read  them.  Don't  you  ?" 

"  But,  my  love,  if  things  are  not  true, 
then  they  must  be  false,  and  I  am  sure  it 
is  wicked  to  tell  lies." 

"  0,  Aunt  Sophy !  they  are  not  lies, 
they  are  only  make  believe.  It  is  just  as 
when  Dick  and  John  and  I  go  up  in  the 
woods  and  play  Robinson  Crusoe,  and 
pretend  that  we  are  Crusoe,  and  Man- 
Friday,  and  savages,  and  parrots  and  cats. 


THE    TURNING    POINT    REACHED.  61 

We  know  we  are  not,  but  we  just  make 
believe  for  fun." 

"  You  had  better  ask  Major  Monroe 
about  it,  my  love,"  said  Mrs.  Bland. 

"  0,  Will  makes  the  best  Robinson  of 
any  of  us,  aunt;  and  he  makes  a  splendid 
parrot.  He  can  say  '  poor  Robinson 
Crusoe !'  just  like  a  parrot  exactly,  and  if 
you  heard  him  mew,  you'd  think  he  was  a 
real  cat." 

'•'I  hardly  think  I  should,  my  dear," 
said  Mrs.  Bland,  mildly,  "because  you 
know  a  cat k  is  so  much  smaller,  and  all 
furry." 

Fortunately  for  the  children  Patty  came 
in  here  to  ask  her  mistress  what  she 
wished  for  dinner.  Diana  went  to  her 
practice,  and  Dick  going  up  stairs  made  a 
secret  resolution  that  if  ever  Anne  was 
his  teacher  again,  he  would  listen  to  what 
he  had  scornfully  called  her  "  lectures." 


62  THE   ICE   RAFT. 


"  Dick,"  called  the  Major  from  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  room,  u  please  run  down 
and  ask  Aunt  Sophy  if  she  would  mind 
my  giving  you  a  few  lessons  in  firing  at  a 
mark.  Tell  her  we  will  go  up  on  the  hill, 
almost  out  of  hearing,  and  quite  out  of 
danger." 

Highly  delighted,  Dick  ran  down  stairs 
and  into  his  aunt's  room  where  Patty  wa? 
endeavoring  to  make  up  her  mistress's 
mind  about  dinner.  "  Really,  Patty,  I'm 
sure  I  don't  know,"  said  Mrs.  Bland  at 
last.  "You  had  better  'ask  Major 
Monroe." 

Will  had  been  in  the  house  only  a  week, 
and  his  aunt  was  fast  growing  into  a  habit 
of  referring  to  him  every  question  that 
came  up  for  decision.  She  had  the  utmost 
confidence  in  him,  and  she  was  saved  the 
very  little  trouble  which  she  had  hitherto 
taken  in  thinking  for  herself. 


THE    TURNING    POINT    REACHED.  63 

"Dear  me,  Missis,"  said  Patty,  "the 
Major  won't  want  to  say.  Suppose  we 
have  veal." 

"Very  well,"  said  Mrs.  Bland,  "but 
you  had  better  ask  the  Major." 

"And  the  dressmaker's  sent  her  little 
girl  up  to  ask  whether  you  want  the 
skirt  of  your  black  silk  dress  plaited  or 
gathered,"  continued  Patty. 

"  Really  I  don't  know,"  said  Mrs.  Bland 
in  her  mildest,  sleepiest  tone.  "  You  had 
better  ask  Major  Monroe." 

Dick,  waiting  on  tip-toe  for  a  chance  to 
speak  to  his  aunt,  could  not  help  laugh- 
ing. 

"  Laws,  Missis !"  said  Patty  almost  out 
of  patience,  "  what  does  the  Major  know 
about  ladies'  dresses  ?  Why  don't  you  ask 
Miss  Anne  ?" 

"  Very  well,  ask  Miss  Anne,"  mur- 
mured Mrs.  Bland. 


64  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

"  I  saw  that  lady  from  Now  York  bad 
her's  plaited."  persisted  Patty.  "  It  looked 
elegant.  She's  visiting  at  Mr.  Leslie's." 

"Then,  ask  Mr.  Leslie,"  murmured 
Mrs.  Bland,  more  than  half  asleep. 

Patty  gave  up  her  attempts  in  despair, 
and  decided  for  plaits  on  her  own  responsi- 
bility. 

"  Aunt  Sophy,"  said  Dick,  eagerly,  stop- 
ping her  on  the  very  edge  of  a  sound  nap, 
"  "Will  wants  to  know  if  he  may  teach  me 
to  fire  at  a  mark.  He  says  we'll  go  up  on 
the  hill  most  out  of  hearing,  and  quite 
out  of  danger." 

"  Surely,  my  dear,  whatever  he  likes ; 
only,  Dick,  please  ask  him  to  be  very 
careful  not  to  shoot  himself." 

Dick  darted  away  with  this  message, 
which  amused  the  Major  not  a  little,  and 
they  went  down  stairs,  Dick  carrying  the 
pistol  case. 


THE  TURNING  POINT  REACHED.    65 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?"  asked  Diana, 
running  out  into  the  hall. 

"  Will's  going  to  teach  me  to  shoot," 
said  Dick,  proudly. 

"0,  Will!  Let  me  go  too,"  besought 
Diana.  "  I  want  to  know  how  as  well  as 
Dick." 

"  You  learn  to  shoot,"  said  Dick,  scorn- 
fully. "  As  if  girls  wanted  to  know  such 
things,  or  could  learn  if  they  did  want  to." 

"  You  are  not  very  civil,  Dick,"  said 
his  brother.  "Let -me  tell  you,  you  are 
mistaken.  When  we  were  expecting  every 
day  that  little  Fort  Elvers  would  be 
besieged  by  the  Indians,  we  taught  all 
the  ladies  in  the  garrison  to  shoot  as  a 
matter  of  necessity,  and  some  of  them 
were  very  good  shots  too.  Come,  if  you 
want  to,  Diana,  only  you  must  stand 
where  I  tell  you  and  not  frisk  about." 

Diana  promised,  flew  up  stairs  /or  her 


66  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

bonnet,  and  presently  rejoined  her  bro- 
thers. 

"You'll  scream  when  the  shots  go 
off,"  said  Dick.  "  Girls  always  do." 

"  I  don't,"  said  Diana.  "  You  know 
I  never  do,  Dick,  unless  at  something 
really  awful — like  spiders." 

Will  could  not  help  joining  in  Dick's 
laugh. 

"To  do  you  justice,  Diana,"  he  said, 
"  I  do  not  think  you  are  given  to  scream- 
ing. I  remember  when  we  were  run 
away  with,  in  Darton,  you  sat  as  still 
as  a  mouse,  and  never  said  a  word." 

"  Because  I  knew  if  I  screamed  I 
should  frighten  the  horses  more ;  but 
I  am  afraid  of  spiders.  Will,  I  mean 
I'm  not  afraid,  you  know,  for  I'm  sure 
they  can't  hurt  me,  but  I  just  can't 
bear  the  sight  of  them.  I  know  it's 
silly,  and  I  tried  to  get  over  it,  and 


THE   TURNING    POINT    REACHED.  67 

stood  and  looked  at  one  spinning  its 
web  ever  so  long  once,  till  I  really  felt 
faint.  I  did,  indeed,  Will." 

"I  dare  say,  Di.  Those  nervous  fears 
are  very  curious  sometimes.  If  it  will 
be  any  comfort  to  you,  I  know  an  officer 
in  our  regiment  who  was  all  through 
the  Mexican  war,  and  has  distinguished 
himself  more  than  once  by  his  courage, 
and  yet  he  confessed  to  ine  that  he 
was  afraid  of  a  spider,  and  I  have  seen 
him  turn  very  pale  when  he  found  one 
crawling  over  him." 

"A  cavalry  officer,  and  afraid  of  a 
spider!"  laughed  Dick.  "I  remember 
Professor  Martin  couldn't  sit  in  the  room 
with  a  cat — or  he  thought  so." 

"  Afraid  of  a  cat !"  said  Diana.  "  How 
silly  !" 

"  Why  more  silly  than  to  be  afraid 
of  a  spider?"  asked  Will. 


68  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

"  0,  because  a  cat  is  nice,  and  clean, 
and  soft,  and  furry ;  and  a  spider  is  all 
squirmy  and  soft,  and  kicks  his  legs 
about  so  horribly.  See  there,  Dick," 
added  Diana,  looking  back  as  they  went 
through  the  orchard ;  "  isn't  that  John 
coming  in  at  the  side  gate  ?" 

"Yes,"  said  Dick.  "He  said  he  was 
coming  up  when  Will  came,  because  he 
wanted  to  hear  about  his  father." 

John's  father  was  in  the  army  too, 
and  was  at  the  frontier  post,  where 
the  Major  had  been  stationed. 

"I  have  a  letter  and  a  little  parcel 
for  him,"  said  the  Major.  "  Diana, 
they  are  in  the  top  of  that  little  black 
trunk.  Will  you  please  run  back  and 
get  them,  as  I  dare  say  the  boy  will 
want  to  see  them  as  soon  as  possible. 
You  and  he  can  come  up  to  us  after- 
wards." 


THE    TURNING    POINT    REACHED.  69 

Diana  turned  back  to  meet  John,  who 
suspended  his  whistle  as  soon  as  he 
saw  her. 

"  There's  a  parcel  and  a  letter  for  you 
in  the  house,"  said  Diana.  "  I  am  to 
get  them  for  you,  and  then  Will  wants 
us  to  come  up  on  the  hill.  He's  going 
to  teach  Dick  to  shoot." 

John  was  delighted  with  the  invita- 
tion, and  with  his  father's  letter,  which 
he  read  as  he  walked  along.  Diana 
noticed,  with  secret  satisfaction,  that  he 
read  the  letter  before  he  opened  the 
little  parcel.  John  read  bits  of  it  to 
Diana  as  they  walked  along. 

"0,  Diana!"  he  cried  out,  "only  think 
I've  got  a  little  sister.  Look  at  the  dear, 
little  curl  of  black  hair  from  her  little 
head.  0  dear,  don't  I  want  to  see  her !  I 
feel  as  if  I  could  fly." 

"What  do  they  call  her?"  said  Diana. 


70  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

"  Nothing  yet,  only  '  baby ;'  father  says 
I  may  have  the  naming  of  her.  I  tell  you 
what,  Diana,  I'll  call  her  after  you,  Diana 
Monroe  Graham.  It  sounds  real  pretty." 

"  0,  John !"  said  Diana,  blushing  with 
delight.  "  Will  you  really  ?" 

"  Indeed  I  will.  You're  the  nicest  girl 
I  ever  knew;  you  aint  a  bit  silly,  and 
I  know  father  and  mother  will  be  pleased 
because  they  think  so  much  of  your 
brother." 

Diana  was  greatly  affected  by  the  com- 
pliment, and  she  determined  that  she 
would  immediately  consult  Anne,  and 
set  about  making  something  pretty  for 
her  namesake. 

"  And  father's  shot  a  grizzly,  and  he's 
sent  me  the  claws;  they're  in  the  parcel  I 
suppose.  My  !  Don't  I  wish  I  could." 

"  Maybe  you  will  sometime.  You  know 
how  to  shoot ;  don't  you,  John  ?" 


THE   TURNING    POINT   REACHED.  71 

"A  little,"  said  John,  modestly.  "I 
shot  a  bear  once ;  but  it  was  by  accident, 
and  he  was  only  a  brown  bear." 

"Shot  a  bear!"  said  Diana,  breathlessly. 

"  Yes,  it  was  two  years  ago,  when  I  was 
in  Northern  California  with  father.  We 
were  in  camp,  and  nobody  thought  there 
were  any  such  creatures  near,  and  I  had 
father's  revolver,  and  I  went  into  the 
bushes,  and  first  I  knew,  I  found  myself 
right  face  to  face  with  this  fellow;  I  tell 
you  I  was  scared  some  if  not  more.  He 
came  right  up  to  me,  and  I  fired  almost 
without  knowing  what  I  did,  and  happened 
to  hit  just  the  right  place  and  killed  him." 

"What  did  your  father  say?"  asked 
Diana,  admiringly. 

"  He  didn't  say  very  much ;  only  he 
took  uncommon  good  care  not  to  let  me 
run  about  by  myself  too  far  from  the  camp 
after  that,  but  that's  nothing  to  a  grizzly. 


72  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

Let  me  show  you  his  claws,"  and  John 
opened  the  parcel  and  displayed  the 
terrible  talons  which  Captain  Graham  had 
caused  to  be  strung  Indian  fashion  into  a 
necklace. 

"  Think  of  having  those  things  catch 
hold  of  you,"  said  Diana,  with  a  shudder. 

"  You  must  manage  to  catch  hold  first," 
said  John.  "See!  here's  your  brother 
and  Dick,  and  some  one  else.  If  it  isn't 
Osborne  Briggs !  What  does  make  Dick 
like  that  fellow  ?" 

"I  don't  know,  I  don't  like  him.  Do 
you  ?" 

"  No,  not  much." 

"  He  always  teases  me  and  says  I'm  a 
girl,"  said  Diana,  injured. 

"  Well,  who  wants  you  to  be  anything 
else,  I  should  like  to  know  ?" 

"  But  he  says  it  in  such  a  hateful  way." 

"You  just   let   me   catch    him  teasing 


THE  TURNING  POINT  EEACHED.     73 

you,"  said  John,  chivalrously;  "I'll  give 
him  what  he  can't  buy  at  the  store.  I'd 
like  to  see  any  boy  teasing  my  little 
sister,"  said  the  boy,  ready  to  defy  the 
world  in. the  cause  of  the  two  months'  old 
baby  in  New  Mexico. 

"  I  wish  Dick  felt  that  way,"  thought 
Diana  to  herself,  as  she  remembered  how 
Dick  had  let  Osborne  torment  her,  and 
laughed  at  her  annoyance  and  vexation. 
She  dismissed  the  thought  from  her  mind 
as  soon  as  she  could,  but  ever  since  that 
day  there  had  been  a  little  sore  place  in 
Diana's  heart,  and  she  could  not  imagine 
why  John's  speech  made  her  feel  like 
crying.  She  did  not  speak  again  till 
they  joined  the  Major,  who  had  heard 
much  about  the  boy  from  his  fond  father, 
and  was  glad  to  meet  him. 

"  So  you  have  got  the  claws,"  said  the 
Major. 


74  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

"  Yes,  sir.  Were  you  with  father  when 
he  shot  the  bear  ?" 

"  Yes,  didn't  he  tell  you  ?  "We  came  on 
the  creature  unexpectedly  when  we  were 
out  together,  and  had  separated  from  our 
party.  She  came  directly  after  us.  I  had 
emptied  one  barrel,  fired  the  other,  and 
only  wounded  the  bear  a  little,  and  made 
her  rush  forward  faster  than  ever.  Under 
the  circumstances  I  thought  it  no  disgrace 
to  run  away ;  but  she  had  fairly  touched 
me  when  your  father  came  close  up  to  us, 
fired  and  killed  her." 

"0,  Will!  you  never  told  us  that," 
and  Diana  clung  to  her  brother  and  began 
to  cry. 

"Hush!  you  silly  girl,"  said  Will. 
"  The  bear  is  dead  and  I  am  here." 

Dick  drew  a  long  breath. 

"I  wish  I  could  go  somewhere  and 
shoot  bears/'  he  said  wistfully. 


THE    TURNING   POINT   REACHED.  75 

"John  killed  a  bear  once,"  said  Diana, 
eagerly. 

"  Why,  John !  did  you  really,"  cried 
Dick,  while  Osborne  looked  incredulous 
and  sneered. 

"  It  was  only  a  brown  one,  and  it  was 
more  by  accident  than  anything  else,"  said 
John,  coloring.  "  Never  mind  it  now." 

"  Then  you  know  how  to  shoot  ?" 

"  A  little.     Father  taught  me." 

Dick's  respect  for  John  went  up  several 
degrees. 

"  A  likely  story  he  ever  shot  a  bear," 
whispered  Osborne.  "  Are  you  fool  enough 
to  believe  it?" 

"Hush!"  said  Dick,  shortly,  turning 
away  from  Osborne  rather  rudely,  and 
going  to  his  brother. 

"  Now,  Diana,  stand  still  where  you  are," 
said  Will.  "  Now,  Dick,  hold  your  hand 
steady,  and  fire  when  I  give  the  word." 


76  THE   ICE    EAFT. 

But  Dick's  hand  trembled  a  little  from 
excitement,  or  bis  aim  was  false.  Tbe 
ball  went  wide  of  the  mark,  and  off  to 
parts  unknown.  Diana  knew  that  Osborne 
expected  her  to  scream  at  the  explosion, 
so  she  held  her  lips  tight  together,  and  did 
not  even  say  "  oh !" 

"  Now,  Diana,  will  you  try  ?"  snid 
the  Major,  smiling;  "or  does  it  make 
too  much  noise?" 

Had  Diana  been  alone  with  her 
brothers,  she  might  very  likely  have 
said,  "  No,  thank  you ;"  for,  truth  to 
tell,  she  felt  very  nervous.  But  she 
was  resolved  that  Osborne  should  have 
no  reason  to  laugh  at  her  for  a  coward. 
She  managed  to  keep  her  eyes  from 
shutting,  and,  to  her  own  great  delight, 
hit  the  extreme  verge  of  the  target, 
which  was  a  very  large  and  conspicuous 
one. 


THE    TURNING   POINT    REACHED.  77 

"  Will  your  friend  like  to  try,.  Dick  ?" 
asked  the  Major,  politely,  turning  to 
Osborne.  But  Osborne  declined  gruffly. 
He  felt  himself  very  much  out  of  his 
element  in  the  Major's  company.  Dick, 
for  the  first  time,  wished  that  Osborne 
were  anywhere  else,  and  could  not  help 
feeling  rather  ashamed  of  his  friend, 
though  he  hardly  knew  why.  In  the 
first  place  he  was  perfectly  certain 
that  Will  was  not  favorably  impressed, 
and  he  was  quite  right.  Will  would 
not  have  cared  at  all  that  Osborne's 
clothes  were  not  fine  or  fashionable, 
but  they  looked  as  if  they  had  not 
been  brushed  for  weeks,  and  Will  no- 
ticed that  he  wore  a  large  gilt  chain 
over  soiled  linen,  and  an  imitation  gold 
ring  on  a  hand  which  looked  as  if  it 
would  have  been  much  better  for  soap 
and  water.  Then  Osborne's  manner 
7* 


78  THE    ICE    RAFT. 


toward  himself  had  been  such  a  com- 
pound of  awkwardness  and  boldness 
that  the  Major  was  anything  but  at- 
tracted. John  followed  Diana,  and  hit 
the  target  twice,  almost  in  the  very 
middle,  and  once  exactly.  Diana  was 
overcoming  her  first  nervousness,  and 
was  listening  eagerly  to  her  brother's 
instructions,  when  the  Major  noticed  that 
Osborne  had  taken  up  one  of  the  pistols, 
and  was  playing  with  it. 

"  Please  not  to  meddle  with  that," 
said  the  Major,  politely.  "It  is  loaded, 
and  loaded  firearms  are  never  safe  play- 
things." 

"Oil  aint  afraid,"  said  Osborne,  con- 
fidently. 

"  That  is  not  the  question,"  stud  the 
Major,  with  some  decision.  "  Be  so 
good  as  to  put  that  down." 

Osborne    obeyed   with    a    sullen    face, 


THE  TURNING  POINT  REACHED.     79 

but  the  moment  the  Major's  back  was 
turned,  as  he  showed  Dick  how  to 
take  aim,  Osborne  picked  up  the  other 
pistol,  and  began  to  handle  it.  Dick 
fired,  bat  a  second  shot  followed  in 
quick  succession,  and  then,  indeed,  Diana 
screamed  wildly. 

"  0,  Anne !  Anne !"  she  shrieked. 
"  She's  killed !"  and  she  darted  down 
the  hill  to  where,  a  few  feet  below 
them,  Anne  was  lying  motionless. 

"Are  you  hurt,  Anne?  Where?" 
said  the  Major,  trembling  with  anxiety, 
as  he  knelt  by  her  side. 

"I  don't  think  I'm  hurt  at  all,  dear," 
said  Anne,  recovering  her  consciousness, 
which  she  had  partly  lost.  "  I  stumbled 
and  fell,  and  something  whistled  over  my 
head  with  such  a  strange  noise."  Anne 
wore  a  broad  Canadian  hat.  Will  took  it 
off  to  give  her  air  and  put  it  into  Dick's 


SO  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

hand ;  Dick  looked  at  it  and  turned  very 
white. 

"  0,  Will !"  he  said  in  an  awe  struck 
whisper.  "  Just  see,  the  ball  went  through 
the  brim  here  at  the  back.  If  she  had 
not  stumbled  then  she  would  have  been 
killed.  0,  Will!  Did  I  do  it?" 

Will  drew  a  long  breath,  and  it  was  a 
moment  before  he  could  speak,  his  hand 
trembled  a  little  as  he  took  the  hat  and 
saw  where  the  ball  had  cut  its  way. 

"  Thank  God  you  are  safe,  sister,"  he 
said.  "  No,  Dick,  it  could  not  have  been 
your  ball  of  course,  for  you  fired  the  other 
way.  Who  touched  the  other  pistol  ?" 

No  one  answered,  but  Diana  and  John 
both  looked  round  for  Osborne.  The 
moment  Osborne  saw  what  he  had  done 
he  had  turned  to  run  away,  but  seeing 
that  Anne  was  alive  he  had  hidden  for  a 
moment  behind  a  tree,  and  looked  down 


THE    TURNING   POINT    REACHED.  81 

upon  the  group  below.  Observing  that 
she  was  not  hurt,  he  came  forward  with 
an  awkward  laugh. 

"  Well,  there's  no  harm  done  after  all," 
he  said,  attempting  to  assume  an  air  of 
confidence,  and  failing  signally  under  the 
Major's  eye. 

"  It  was  you  then,"  said  that  gentlemen, 
very  coldly. 

"  Well,  I  didn't  mean  any  harm,  I  did 
not  see  Anne  was  coming  up  the  hill." 

"Do  you  mean  Miss  Monroe?"  said 
Will,  sharply. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Osborne,  in  spite  of 
himself. 

"  Be  so  good  as  to  say  so  then.  Did  I 
not  desire  you  to  leave  the  pistol  alone  ?" 

"  I  just  took  it  up  for  a  minute,"  began 
Osborne. 

"You  have  no  excuse  for  taking  it  up 
at  all.  It  was  only  because  she  happened 


82  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

to  slip  at  that  instant  that  she  was  not 
killed." 

"  I  am  sure  Osborne  meant  no  harm," 
said  Anne,  gently.  "  It  was  only  an 
accident." 

"  It  was  no  accident,  he  meddled  with 
what  did  not  belong  to  him.  Excuse  me 
if  ,1  say  I  prefer  you  should  not  join  us 
again.  I  cannot  have  a  boy  who  cannot 
do  as  he  is  told  in  the  neighborhood  of 
firearms.  Good  morning,"  and  the  Major 
bowed  and  turned  away. 

"  I  ain't  going  to  be  insulted  by  no  stuck 
up  officer,"  began  Osborne,  but  the  officer 
taking  no  sort  of  notice  of  him,  a  farther 
evidence  of  his  "stuck  up"  qualities, 
Osborne  felt  that  his  fine  speeches  would 
be  wasted,  and  walked  away  in  great 
indignation.  He  left  no  one  in  the  com- 
pany who  was  more  disgusted  with  him 
than  his  former  admirer  Dick. 


THE    TURNING    POINT    REACHED.  83 

"  I  was  coming  to  tell  you  that  it  was 
almost  dinner-time,"  said  Anne  to  her 
brother,  as  she  sat  to  rest  for  a  few  min- 
utes, while  John  went  back  to  the  place 
where  they  had  been  shooting  and  put  up 
the  pistols.  "  Don't  look  so  startled, 
Dick.'' 

To  her  surprise  Dick  burst  into  a  violent 
fit  of  crying,  and  ran  away  toward  the 
house. 

"  Poor  boy  !"  said  his  brother,  looking 
after  him,  with  rather  a  tremble  in  his 
own  voice.  "  He  thought  it  was  his  fault 
at  first.  I  hope  this  Master  Osborne  is 
not  a  very  intimate  friend  of  his." 

"  I  don't  think  he  is,"  said  Anne,  who 
had  no  idea  how  much  Dick  and  Osborne 
had  been  together.  "I  have  only  seen 
the  boy  once  or  twice  before,  and  was  not 
much  pleased  with  him." 

Diana  knew  very  well  how  much  Dick 


84  TEE    ICE    RAFT. 

and  Osborne  had  been  together,  but  she 
did  not  care  to  speak  about  it. 

"  Don't  say  anything  about  this  to  Aunt 
Sophy,"  said  Anne;  "she  would  be  so 
frightened." 

"  Perhaps  it  is  best  not.  I  want  Dick 
to  learn  to  shoot,  and  there  is  no  sort  of 
danger  with  the  other  children  who  mind 
what  they  are  told." 

In  the  meantime  Dick  had  reached  his 
own  room,  and  shut  himself  in.  He  could 
not  help  thinking  how,  but  for  that  sudden 
slip,  they  would  now  have  been  bringing 
home  Anne's  dead  body.  As  he  looked 
back  over  the  last  few  months  he  felt 
humiliated  and  ashamed.  His  feelings 
were  bitter  enough  now,  but  what  would 
they  have  been  had  Anne  indeed  been 
killed. 

"  What  a  fool  I  have  been !"  he  said 
to  himself  impatiently,  as  he  sprang  up 


THE    TURNING    POINT    REACHED.  85 

from  the  chair  into  which  he  had  thrown 
himself,  and  walked  hastily  up  and  down 
the  room.  "How  Osborne  did  act  this 
morning.  I  wonder  if  he's  always  been 
such  a  fellow  and  I've  only  just  found  it 
out  ?  I  wonder  what  made  me  read  those 
nasty,  hateful  books?  I  wish  I  could 
forget  them.  I  keep  thinking  about  them 
just  when  I  don't  want  to.  I'll  burn  up 
mine,  and  give  his  back  to  him  as  soon  as 
I  can.  I  wouldn't  have  Will  catch  me 
with  them  for  the  world.  What  should  I 
do  if  he  should  find  them  ?  I'm  a  great 
mind  to  tell  him  the  whole  story ;  but 
he'd  be  so  angry  if  he  knew  how  I 
laughed  at  Aunt  Sophy,  and  mimicked 
her  at  Osborne's.  0  dear!  whatever  did 
possess  me  ?" 

Dick's  sorrow  was  hardly  that  which 
worketh  unto  the  best  repentance.  He 
was  more  vexed  that  he  had  made  a  fool 


86  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

of  himself,  than  sorry  because  he  had 
grieved  his  sister.  He  was  more  afraid  of 
being  found  out  than  he  was  ashamed  of 
the  sin.  He  could  not  see  that  "what 
possessed  him"  had  been  himself,  and  his 
own  selfishness,  and  blamed  Osborne  for 
the  whole.  He  had  met  Osborne  after 
turning  into  the  wrong  path,  and  had 
chosen  his  company  willingly. 

"  I'll  never  behave  as  I  have  done 
again,"  resolved  Dick,  and  the  resolu- 
tion was  good  as  far  as  it  went.  But 
Dick  did  not  build  on  the  one  firm 
foundation.  He  did  not  ask  God's  help. 

"  May  I  come  in,  Dick,"  said  the 
Major,  knocking  at  the  door,  and  Dick 
opened  it  rather  reluctantly. 

"  I've  been  silly,  I  know,"  he  said. 

"  What,  for  crying  about  this  matter  ?" 
said  Will,  sitting  down  and  drawing 
his  brother  toward  himself.  "  I  don't 


THE  TURNING  POINT  REACHED.     87 

think  so.  It  was  a  terrible  thing.  I 
believe  we  were  all  more  frightened 
than  Anne  herself.  I  don't  know  how 
to  be  thankful  enough.  But,  Dick,  is 
this  Master  Briggs  a  great  friend  of 
yours  ?" 

"  Not  such  a  very  great  friend,"  said 
Dick,  reluctantly.  "  I've  played  with 
him  a  good  deal.  He's  the  only  boy 
around  here." 

"  I  wouldn't  have  much  to  do  with 
him,"  said  Will.  "  He  seems  anything 
but  a  desirable  companion." 

"  I  won't  have  any  more  to  do  with 
him,  Will,"  said  Dick,  readily.  "  I  knew 
you  didn't  like  him,  but  he  never  seemed 
as  he  did  this  morning;  but,  Will,  don't 
you  never  want  me  to  play  with  poor 
boys  ?" 

"  Do  you  think  I  am  such  a  snob  as 
that?  I  don't  care  about  a  boy's  being 


88  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

poor,  or  not  wearing  fine  clothes,  but 
I  don't  like  impudence  and  disobedience, 
and  Osborne  seems  to  me  to  possess  both ; 
and,  perhaps,  it  is  hard  judgment  on 
my  part,  but  he  doesn't  look  to  me 
like  a  boy  to  be  trusted." 

Dick  hung  his  head.  He  knew  very 
well  that  Will  had  perfect  confidence 
in  him,  and  he  felt  that  he  did  not  de- 
serve it.  He  thought,  remorsefully,  of 
the  books  hidden  away,  and  of  his 
mimicry  of  his  aunt.  The  impulse  was 
upon  him  to  tell  the  whole  story,  and 
take  the  consequences  whatever  they 
were,  but  he  resisted  his  own  better 
nature. 

"  I'll  never  do  anything  I  know  he 
won't  like  again,  if  I  know  it,"  he 
thought. 

"  I  don't  want  to  lecture  yon,  my 
man,"  said  Will,  kindly ;  "  but  do  be 


THE  TURNING  POINT  REACHED.    89 

sure  and  keep  out  of  low  company. 
There  is  nothing  that  ruins  a  young 
man  more  effectually.  You  have  others 
to  think  of  beside  yourself.  If  the  news 
should  come  sometime  that  I  had  been 
shot,  or  died  of  a  fever,  you  would  be 
left  to  take  care  of  the  girls." 

"0,  brother!  don't  talk  so!"  said 
Dick,  hiding  his  face  on  the  Major's 
shoulder. 

"  You  know  the  far  West  isn't  always 
the  safest  place  in  the  world,  and  I 
only  want  to  make  you  see  that  you 
must  make  a  man  of  yourself,  not  only 
for  your  own  sake,  but  for  others,"  said 
Will,  kissing  him.  "You  must  do  it 
yourself,  Dick.  Your  sister  and  I  can 
only  show  you  the  road;  it  is  you  who 
must  walk  in  it — after  the  one  Guide, 
dear." 

"Yes,   brother,    I   know.      I'll    try   to 


90  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

be  a  good  boy — indeed  I  will !"  said 
Dick,  greatly  affected ;  "  and  I'll  never 
be  cross  to  Anne  again." 

"That's  right;  but  I  must  not  keep 
you  any  longer,  for  it  is  almost  dinner- 
time, and  John  will  wonder  where  you 
.have  gone.  He  is  a  fine  little  fellow." 

"Yes;  he's  a  real  nice  boy,"  said 
Dick,  heartily ;  for  John  had  more  than 
regained  his  place  in  Dick's  estimation. 

"  My  dears,"  said  Mrs.  Bland,  when 
the  desert  was  placed  on  the  table, 
"I  am  going  to  have  a  pony  to  ride." 

"  You  ride  a  pony,  Aunt  Sophy !"  said 
Diana,  with  wide  open  eyes. 

"  0,  no,  darling ;  I  never  rode  on  horse- 
back— not  when  I  was  a  young  lady, 
and  now  it  wouldn't  do  at  all.  I  mean 
it  for  you  and  Dick." 

Diana  skipped  up  from  her  seat  and 
kissed  her  aunt  affectionately.  "0!  you 


THE  TURNING  POINT  REACHED.     91 

darling  Aunt  Sophy !"  she  said.  "  How 
nice  you  are  !"  but  Dick  hung  his  head, 
and  colored  to  his  hair. 

"I  don't  deserve  it,  Aunt  Sophy,"  he 
said. 

"  My  dear,  I  am  sure  you  are  a  very 
good  boy.  There  was  a  boy  here  once, 
when  my  husband  was  alive/'  pursued 
Mrs.  Bland,  "  who  whittled  the  stair- 
rail.  Now  I've  never  seen  you  whittle 
anything  but  a  stick.  I'm  sure  you 
are  a  good  boy,  and  your  brother  is 
quite  willing  you  should  have  the  pony, 
and  a  side-saddle  for  Diana.  Simeon  will 
bring  it  this  afternoon." 

"You  are  so  good,  Aunt  Sophy,"  said 
Anne,  greatly  pleased.  "Did  Will  know 
about  it?" 

"It  was  only  this  morning  that  aunt 
told  me,"  said  the  Major.  "  I  am  sure 
I  am  as  much  pleased  as  Diana,  for 


92  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

I   should   like   to  have   Dick   know  how 
to  ride." 

The  pony,  a  beautiful  grey  one,  came 
that  afternoon,  and  a  fine  time  the 
children  had  with  him;  but  in  Dick's 
secret  heart  there  was  an  uncomfortable 
sense  of  shame  and  annoyance  with 
himself,  when  he  remembered  how  he 
had  ridiculed  Aunt  Sophy  to  Osborne 
Briggs. 


CHAPTER  V. 

LIFE      IN      THE      FAMILY. 

'HAT  evening,  when  Anne  was  sitting 
with  her  aunt  after  tea,  Diana  con- 
fided to  her  the  story  of  John's 
little  sister — her  own  namesake  —  and 
asked  advice  about  the  intended  present. 
"I  wish  it  could  be  something  real 
pretty,"  said  Diana;  "because*  she's 
named  for  me,  and  because  her  father 
kept  the  bear  from  killing  Will." 

"From     killing     Will?"     said     Anne, 
startled.     "  What  do  you  mean  ?" 

The    Major   told    her   the    story  in    as 
few  words  as  possible. 

93 


94  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

"  Dear  me  !"  said  Mrs.  Bland.  "  Will, 
my  dear,  why  do  you  do  such  very 
unsafe  things  as  to  go  off  after  bears 
and  Indians,  and  round  in  such  wild 
places.  I  am  sure  you  will  be  hurt 
some  day.  Does  the  War  Department 
want  the  officers  to  kill  grizzly  bears, 
or  why  do  they  do  such  things  ?" 

"  There  have  been  no  orders  in  particu- 
lar about  it  from  the  department,"  said  the 
Major  smiling.  "  And  we  find  time  rather 
heavy  on  our  hands  now  and  then,  and  we 
go  hunting  for  sport." 

"  I  never  could  imagine  what  pleasure 
there  ctmld  be  in  going  about  with  a  gun," 
pursued  Mrs.  Bland ;  "  and  then  bears  are 
such  fierce,  great  creatures.  I  am  sure, 
Will,  if  this  one  had  not  been  killed,  it 
might  have  bitten  you  very  badly." 

"  I  dare  say  it  might,  Aunt  Sophy." 

"Mr.   Bland  was  bitten  by  a  squirrel 


LIFE  IN    THE    FAMILY.  95 

once,"  continued  Mrs.  Bland,  "it  wasn't 
a  wild  squirrel,  it  was  a  tame  one ;  but  he 
had  to  wear  a  bit  of  linen  round  his 
finger  for  more  than  a  week.  So  you  see 
how  dangerous  it  is  to  be  bitten  by  any 
animal,  and  a  bear  would  be  worse  than  a 
squirrel,  you  know." 

"0!  Aunt  Sophy,"  said  Diana,  "I 
should  think  it  would.  If  you  had  seen 
the  claws  John  had  you'd  think  so." 

u  But  they  don't  bite  with  their  claws, 
my  dear.  Lobsters  will,  I  believe,  but  I 
think  not  bears." 

"  No,  but  they  claw  hold  of  you.  0 !  I 
can't  bear  to  think  about  it.  Do  tell  me 
Anne  what  I  shall  make  for  the  baby." 

"  I  am  afraid  Di  that  you  are  hardly 
needlewoman  enough  to  make  her  a  frock 
or  any  such  thing.  Baby  clothes  want  the 
•very  nicest  sewing." 

"  What  baby  ?"  said  Mrs.  Bland. 


96  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

"  The  little  New  Mexican  baby,  aunt, 
John's  sister." 

"  But  John  is  not  a  Mexican,"  said  Mrs. 
Bland  in  a  puzzle. 

"  No,  but  his  father  and  mother,  Will's 
friends,  Captain  and  Mrs.  Graham  you 
know,  they  are  in  New  Mexico,"  said 
Diana,  a  little  put  out. 

"  Are  they,"  said  Mrs.  Bland,  completely 
bewildered.  "  How  did  they  get  there  ?" 

"  They  went  there  at  the  same  time  I 
did,"  said  the  Major. 

"  Because  they  liked  their  own  country 
better  than  this  ?  But  if  they  are  Mexi- 
cans how  does  it  happen  that  John  is  not. 
I  thought  all  Mexicans  were  dark  and 
spoke  Spanish ;  but  perhaps  New  Mexicans 
are  different  from  old  Mexicans;  or 
perhaps  they  grow  darker  after  they  get 
old,"  went  on  Mrs.  Bland,  mystifying  her- 
self more  and  more. 


LIFE  IN   THE    FAMILY.  97 

The  Major  with  great  seriousness  went 
to  work  to  explain  the  case  as  far  as  lie 
could,  and  meantime  Anne  and  Diana 
considered  the  subject  of  the  present. 

"You  can  crochet  very  neatly,"  said 
Anne,  "you  might  begin  a  baby's  blanket 
in  shell  stitch,  and  that  could  go  by  mail 
in  an  envelope." 

"  So  it  could,"  said  Diana,  "  and  it 
would  be  pretty,  too.  I  wish  I  could  buy 
her  something  pretty  that  she  could  always 
keep  to  remember  me  by,  because  of  the 
bear." 

te  But  Diana,  it  was  not  the  baby  who 
killed  the  bear?"  said  Mrs.  Bland. 

"  It  was  her  father,  Aunt  Sophy." 

"  Why  don't  you  send  her  a  coral  neck- 
lace, love  ?  I  had  one  when  I  was  a  baby 
and  got  some  of  the  beads  into  my  mouth 
and  swallowed  them,  but  they  did  not 
hurt  me." 


98  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

"  I  haven't  any  money,  Aunt  Sophy." 

"  I  can  give  you  some,  dear." 

"0,  thank  you,  aunty,"  said  Diana; 
"but  I  want  this  to  be  my  very  own 
present,  and  if  you  gave  me  the  money  it 
wouldn't  be,  bat  I'm  just  as  much  obliged," 
and  Diana  went  across  the  room  to  kiss 
her  aunt. 

"I  think  the  blanket  would  be  the 
prettiest,"  she  said,  coming  back  to  Anne. 
"  Let  me  run  up  and  get  your  shawl,  and 
look  at  it." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Anne,  and  Diana  ran 
away  and  presently  reappeared  with  a 
soft,  large  shawl  of  fleecy  white  zephyr, 
very  pretty  to  look  at,  and  very  becoming 
to  Anne's  tall,  slender  figure,  when  thrown 
over  her  shoulders. 

"My  love,"  said  Mrs.  Bland.  "That's 
a  beautiful  shawl.  Where  did  you  get  it  ? 
I  should  like  to  have  one  like  it." 


LIFE  IN   THE   FAMILY.  99 

"I  made  it,  Aunt  Sophy ;  I  shall  be  very 
glad  to  make  you  one  like  it  if  you  wish." 

Mrs.  Bland  stroked  the  shawl  as  it  lay 
on  her  lap,  with  her  soft,  white  hand. 

"  My  dear,"  she  said,  suddenly  to  Anne, 
"  I  think  you  must  be  very  clever." 

"Have  you  only  just  found  that  out, 
Aunt  Sophy  ?"  said  Will,  smiling. 

"  0,  but  really  now  I  do.  It  was  only 
yesterday  that  you  put  my  cap-drawer  so 
nicely  in  order,  and  you  made  this  all 
yourself.  I  dare  say  you  can  make  a 
pudding  after  all." 

"Why,"  cried  Diana,  "Anne  always 
did  all  the  nice  cooking  at  home,  and 
made  preserves  and  cake  herself.  Didn't 
you,  Anne?" 

"  I  think  I  did,  Diana." 

"  Dear  me,"  said  Mrs.  Bland,  admiringly, 
"and  yet  you  can  read  those  big,  old 
books  in  your  room,  and  teach  the  children 


100  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

and  all.  How  very  nice !  Do  you  know," 
she  went  on,  as  though  announcing  a 
discovery,  "  I  think  it  is  a  very  good 
thing  for  people  to  know  how  to  do  every- 
thing, for  then  they  can  do  anything." 

"  We  are  wandering  a  long  way  from 
Diana's  matter,"  said  Anne.  "If  you  like 
that,  Diana,  I  will  get  the  worsted  for 
you.  It  will  not  cost  much.  Will  you 
have  the  border  pink  or  blue  ?" 

Diana  decided  for  pink. 

"I  will  get, the  material  for  you  then 
to-morrow,"  said  Anne,  "  and  for  aunt's 
shawl,  if  she  would  like  to  have  one.  I 
should  like  to  do  it  very  much." 

"  Thank  you,  Anne  love,  if  it  would  not 
be  too  much  trouble." 

Here  Dick,  who  had  been  down  to  the 
post-office  with  Simeon,  came  in  with  a 
letter  for  Anne. 

It    was    an    invitation    from    an     old 


LIFE  IN   THE    FAMILY.  101 

friend  of  Annie's  in  Darton,  asking  her 
to  keep  an  old  promise,  and  come 
and  be  bridesmaid.  The  Major  was 
asked  to  accompany  his  sister,  as  both 
bride  and  bridegroom  were  old  friends 
and  playmates. 

Will  decided  at  once  that  they  must 
go. 

"But  what  shall  we  do  with  Dick 
and  Diana  ?"  said  Anne,  who  longed 
to  go,  and  yet  had  doubts  about  the  ex- 
pense of  the  journey  and  of  a  new  gown. 

"  Why  need  you  do  anything  with 
them,  Anne,  love?"  said  Mrs.  Bland. 
"  They  can  stay  here,  can't  they  ?" 

"Dear  Aunt  Sophy,"  said  Anne,  smil- 
ing, "I  am  afraid  they  would  half- 
tear  the  house  down,  if  left  to  them- 
selves." 

"  I  don't  think  they  could,  because 
it  is  so  well  built,  and  then  they 

9* 


102  THE    ICE   RAFT. 

wouldn't  want  to  tear  it  down.  Would 
you,  Dick?" 

"  Of  course  not,  Aunt  Sophy.  I  never 
tore  a  house  down  in  my  life." 

"  There !  I  told  you  so,  Anne.  I  am 
sure  Dick  and  Diana  are  uncommonly 
good  children.  When  your  uncle's  niece 
was  here  with  her  two  children — oh! 
a  great  many  years  ago — whenever  they 
wanted  cake  they  used  to  cry  for  it; 
and,  really,  it  was  very  tiresome;  but 
Dick  and  Diana  just  go  to  the  pantry 
and  get  it  for  themselves." 

"  There,  now,  Anne !"  said  the  Major, 
"since  the  children  are  such  models  of 
virtue  as  to  help  themselves  to  cake 
whenever  they  want  it,  I  am  sure  you 
can  trust  them  to  annt's  care." 

"  And  Patty  says  they  never  put  their 
fingers  into  the  preserves,"  said  Mrs. 
Bland. 


LIFE  IN    THE   FAMILY.  103 

Dick  and  Diana  looked  at  each  other 
and  laughed  out. 

"O,  you  must  go,  Anne!"  said  Diana. 
"You  see  now  we'll  be  as  good  as  mice 
and  as  steady  as  old  time." 

"  Yes,  and  we'll  do  some  lessons  every 
day,"  said  Dick,  in  a  sudden  gush  of 
enthusiasm. 

"  Only  won't  you  begin  the  blanket 
first,  please,  Anne  ?"  asked  Diana. 

"  I  don't  know "  said  Anne,  hesita- 
tingly. 

"But  I  do,"  said  the  Major.  "I 
should  never  forgive  myself  if  I  did  not 
see  Mary  and  John  married." 

"And  you  know,  dear,  they  never 
can  be  married  again;  and,  if  you 
don't  see  them  this  time,  you  never 
will,"  urged  Mrs.  Bland,  with  great 
truth. 

"And   I  want  to  go,  and  I  sha'n't  go 


104  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

without  you,"  said  Will ;  "  so  if  you 
stay  at  home  you  will  be  selfishly  de- 
priving me  of  a  pleasure." 

"  Very  well,  then ;  I  suppose  I  shall 
have  to  go,"  said  Anne ;  "  and  we  must 
be  ready  to  start  by  the  first  of  next 
week.  Yes,  Di,  I  will  begin  your 
work  for  you  before  I  leave." 

When  Dick  and  Diana  were  left 
to  themselves,  for  leaving  them  "  in 
their  aunt's  care"  was  merely  a  polite 
fiction,  they  fully  intended  to  be  ex- 
ceedingly steady  and  sober. 

Dick  had  never  returned  those  books 
to  Osborne,  and  now  learned  that  Os- 
borne  had  gone  away  from  home  for 
a  visit.  He  did  not  like  to  leave  the 
parcel  at  his  house,  for  he  was  not 
quite  sure  whether  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Briggs 
would  approve  of  such  books,  and  he 
did  not  wish  to  betray  his  former 


LIFE  IN    THE    FAMILY.  105 

friend.  As  to  the  project  which  he 
had  formed,  of  burning  his  own  share, 
it  was  not  so  easy  to  find  a  chance  to 
destroy  several  numbers  of  a  very  low 
paper,  and  two  or  three  bulky  pam- 
phlets, without  attracting  some  one's 
notice.  Confident  that  they  were  safe 
in  their  hiding  place,  therefore,  he  let 
them  alone.  He  had  adhered  to  his 
resolution  of  never  reading  them  again, 
but  he  was  vexed  to  find  that  he 
could  not  forget  the  thought  and  images 
with  which  he  had  filled  his  imagina- 
tion, and  that  he  had  not  touched 
pitch  and  come  off  undefiled. 

For  the  first  two  days  of  their  brother 
and  sister's  absence  Dick  and  Diana  con- 
scientiously learned  their  usual  lessons, 
Anne  had  given  them  no  regular  tasks; 
had  advised  them  to  do  a  little  work  every 
day,  but  had  smilingly  refused  to  accept 


106  THE    ICE   RAFT. 

any  promises  as  to  the  quantity  or  regu- 
larity of  the  work  to  be  done.  The  next 
morning  John  Graham  came  up  on  a  pony 
that  he  had  borrowed,  with  the  proposal 
that  Dick  and  Diana  should  take  their  own 
pony,  go  off  into  the  woods,  and  have  a 
picnic.  Aunt  Sophy  being  consulted  as  a 
matter  of  form,  said  "  yes  "  as  a  matter  of 
course ;  only  she  told  them  not  to  go  too 
far,  and  hoped  that  they  would  be  careful 
to  take  enough  to  eat  along  with  them, 
arid  come  home  before  dark.  Patty  took 
care  that  they  obeyed  the  first  piece  of 
advice,  and  they  supposed  themselves  to 
have  acted  according  to  the  second,  when 
they  made  their  appearance  just  as  the  last 
glow  of  sunset  was  fading  out  of  the  sky. 
Diana's  frock  was  torn  in  five  places,  and 
she  was  burned  as  brown  as  a  berry. 
Patty  held  up  her  hands,  and  scolded  the 
boys  for  leading  Missy  into  mischief;  but 


LIFE    IN   THE    FAMILY.  107 

Mrs.  Bland  only  remarked  that  there  were 
plenty  more  gingham  frocks  to  be  bought, 
and  that  of  course  if  Diana  went  with  her 
brother,  she  wanted  to  go  where  he  did, 
and  bade  Patty  "get  the  dear  children  a 
nice  supper." 

The  next  day  was  rainy  and  dark,  an 
excellent  day  to  study;  but  the  express 
man  brought  a  parcel  of  story  books 
which  Mrs.  Bland  had  ordered  when  she 
first  heard  the  children  were  coming,  and 
which  had  but  just  now  made  their 
appearance.  Mrs.  Bland  had  named  no 
books  in  particular,  only  stated  that  there 
had  better  be  plenty  of  fairy  tales,  as  she 
believed  all  children  liked  them.  The 
bookseller  fortunately  knew  a  good  book 
from  a  bad  or  silly  one,  and  had  made  a 
charming  selection. 

To  settle  down  to  arithmetic  and  history 
with  "  The  Young  Marooners,"  "  Philip  in 


108  THE   ICE    EAFT. 

Palestine,"  and  "Little  Meg's  Children"  in 
the  house,  would  have  been  too  much  to 
expect  of  any  child,  out  of  a  book.  At 
all  events  if  any  one  had  expected  it  of 
Dick  and  Diana  they  would  have  been 
disappointed.  They  read  from  morning 
till  night,  and  only  stopped  when  they 
went  to  bed.  Nor  would  they  have  stopped 
then,  only  that  Patty  was  inexorable  and 
took  away  the  candle. 

The  next  morning  they  did  three  sums, 
and  one  chapter  of  Caesar,  actually,  before 
they  touched  a  story  book.  Then  Dick 
remembered  that  they  must  write  to  Will 
and  Anne,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  letter 
they  heard  that  three  little  kittens  had 
been  found  in  the  barn.  Of  course  they 
went  to  see  the  kittens  which,  as  Dick 
said,  was  a  mere  necessary  civility  to 
their  friend,  the  old  cat.  Equally,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  they  stayed  with  them 


Finding  the  kittens.     Page  108. 


LIFE    IN    THE    FAMILY.  109 

an  hour,  so  that  there  was  barely  time  to 
finish  the  letter  for  Simeon  to  take  to  the 
office.  Then  came  dinner,  and  in  the 
afternoon  Diana  wanted  to  work  at  the 
baby's  blanket,  and  Dick  read  "  It  Isn't 
Right"  aloud  to  her.  To  read  anything 
whatever  was,  in  Aunt  Sophy's  eye,  a 
meritorious  action,  and  when  she  found 
them  thus  employed,  she  remarked  that 
she  thought  Anne  had  brought  them  up 
uncommonly  well,  they  were  both  so  fond 
of  their  books. 

The  next  day  they  were  asked  to  spend 
the  day  at  Mr.  Leslie's,  and  the  next  day 
was  Sunday.  They  did  manage  to  learn 
their  Sunday-school  lessons  before  church, 
and  Monday  was  the  Sunday-school  picnic, 
so  that  Diana  said  it  really  seemed  as  if 
"  the  fates  were  against  their  ever  study- 
ing." 

When    at   the   end   of  ten    days   their 

10 


110  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

brother  and  sister  came  home,  and  Anne 
inquired  after  their  lessons,  they  reported 
three  chapters  of  Csesar,  four  pages  of 
English  History,  five  sums  for  the  two,  a 
pile  of  story-books  read  through,  and 
Diana's  work  three-quarters  done,  neat  as 
possible  and  without  a  missed  stitch,  "  and 
that  at  least  was  something,"  said  Dick 
with  satisfaction,  and  then  hung  clown  his 
head  as  Will  smiled.  "  To  be  sure  it's 
nothing  for  me,"  he  said. 

"0,  but  it  is!"  said  Diana.  "For  he 
read  aloud  to  me  a  good  deal  when  I  was 
working,  or  I  should  have  been  reading 
myself.  0,  Will,  you  must  read  '  Dick 
and  his  Friend  Fidus,'  it's  splendid." 

"  But  really  I  meant  to  do  more,"  said 
Dick.  "  I  don't  see  why  we  didn't,  but 
something  was  always  coming  to  pass." 

"  Yes,  it  really  seemed  as  if  it  was  the 
fates,"  said  Diana,  earnestly. 


LIFE     IN    THE    FAMILY.  Ill 

"  The  kittens  and  the  pony  you  mean, 
don't  you?"  said  the  Major  laughing. 
"You  have  done  quite  as  much  as  I 
expected." 

"  Have  we  really  ?"  said  Diana,  in  great 
surprise.  "  Why,  Anne,  was  that  why 
you  wouldn't  let  us  promise  ?" 

"  Perhaps  so,"  said  Anne,  smiling. 

"  Dear  me,  I  didn't  think  we  were  such 
a  pair  of  geese,  did  you,  Dick  ?" 

"  Nay,  you  are  nothing  but  goslings," 
said  Will. 

"  Then  I've  a  right  to  peep"  said  Diana, 
pulling  a  concealed  parcel  out  of  her 
brother's  pocket.  "  I  knew  you'd  bring 
us  some  sugar  plums  out  of  dear,  old 
Aunty  Smith's  shop  in  Darton.  0,  dear ! 
They  taste  just  as  they  used  to,  Will !  I 
wish  everybody  in  the  world  had  all  the 
candy  they  wanted." 

"  What  a  lot  that  would  be  for  some 


112  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

folks,"  said  Dick,  who  for  some  time  past 
had  not  been  quite  sure  whether  burnt 
almonds  were  not  beneath  his  dignity. 
"  Did  you  use  to  like  candy,  Will  ?" 

"  I  like  it  now,"  said  the  Major,  helping 
himself.  "  Don't  you  ?" 

11  Dick  said  once  he  thought  sugar  plums 
were  only  fit  for  little  children,"  said 
Diana,  "but  I  guess  he  wants  some  now." 

"  Dear  me,"  said  Will,  "  I  hope  I  sha'n't 
lose  your  respect,  Dick,  but  the  fact  is  I 
like  them  myself." 

"Never  mind,  Dick,"  said  Anne, 
"  every  one  has  an  old  fit  when  about  your 
age ;  I  was  a  great  deal  older  myself  at 
fifteen  than  I  am  now." 

"Burnt  almonds  always  make  me  think 
of  Cousin  Hamilton,"  said  Dick. 

"  Why  ?"  asked  the  Major. 

"  0,  because  she  was  so  disagreeable." 

"I   don't  see  it   yet,  for   you   seem  to 


LIFE     IN    THE    FAMILY.  113 


think  the  almonds  rather  nice  than  other- 
wise." 

"  Because,"  said  Diana,  "  we  never 
could  have  anything  nice  or  pretty  that 
she  didn't  say  something  to  spoil  it.  If 
we  had  cake  or  candy,  or  anything  like 
that,  she'd  always  remind  us  that  there 
were  a  great  many  little  boys  and  girls 
who  could  not  get  bread,  and  I'm  sure  I 
would  have  given  them  all  some  if  I  could. 
She'd  always  act  and  make  me  feel  just 
as  if  I'd  taken  the  things  all  away  from 
some  one  else,  and  once  when  Dr.  Mills 
took  Flora  and  me  to  Aunty  Smith's  and 
bought  ice  cream  and  cake  for  us,  she 
happened  to  be  there,  and  she  told  us 
about  '  the  starving  millions  in  Europe,' 
till  we  couldn't  enjoy  it  a  bit.  Just  as  if 
I  could  have  sent  a  saucer  of  ice  cream  to 
Europe." 

"  And  when  Diana  gave  her  half-dollar 
10* 


114  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

to  Mrs.  Mills  for  her  missionary  box,"  said 
Dick,  "  Cousin  Hamilton  said  it  was  not 
good  in  her  because  she  gave  it  for  the 
sake  of  being  praised,  and  Di  never 
thought  of  such  a  thing." 

"  And  after  all,  when  Anne  wanted  her 
to  help  in  buying  a  pair  of  blankets  for 
poor  old  Mrs.  McFarlane,  she  would  not 
give  anything,  because  she  said  she  didn't 
approve  of  indiscriminate  charity,  only  of 
systematic  benevolence."  "  Anne  said  she 
felt  as  if  she  had  a  thousand  pounds 
weight  lifted  off  her  when  she  was  gone," 
said  Dick. 

"  I  never  said  so  to  you,"  said  Anne, 
smiling. 

"  No,  but  you  did  to  yourself;  besides  we 
knew  you  couldn't  bear  her." 

"  She  certainly  was  rather  trying,"  said 
Anne.  "  Diana,  if  you  eat  any  more  candy 
you  will  be  sick." 


LIFE    IN   THE    FAMILY.  115 

"I've  done  now  till  next  time,"  said 
Diana,  jumping  off  her  brother's  knee. 

"  Dick,  we  haven't  seen  the  little  cats 
to-day.  Come  out  to  the  barn." 

"  Look  here,  Di,"  said  Dick,  while  they 
were  playing  with  the  kittens,  "  what 
do  you  suppose  is  the  reason  we  did  not 
do  any  better  with  our  lessons?  It's  all 
nonsense  to  say  we  couldn't,  you  know, 
and  I  really  meant  to." 

"  Well,  I  suppose  we  were  careless.  0, 
you  itty  pecious  kitty  cat !  Did  it  det  its 
little  eyes  open  ?" 

"But  we  should  have  done  them  if 
Anne  had  been  here,"  persisted  Dick. 

"  Yes,  because  then  we  should  Jiave  to 
do  them." 

"But  we  might  have  made  ourselves 


"0,    dear!     I    suppose    we    might.     I 
wonder  what  is  the  reason  we've  always 


116  TITE    ICE    RAFT. 

— •»»qflb**«— 

got  to  have  to"  said  Diana,  in  questionable 
English.  "  But  I  tell  you  what,  Dick,  if 
Will  and  Anne  had  said  when  they  went 
away,  that  they  knew  we  shouldn't  do 
anything,  we  should  have  been  real  pro- 
voked. I  do  believe,  Dick,  we've  got  to  do 
more  than  mean  to  do  things,  we've  got 
to  do  them." 

Dick  said  nothing,  but  he  began  to 
suspect  that  he  was  not  quite  as  well 
able  to  govern  himself  as  he  had  sup- 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CHANGES     AND      IMPROVEMENTS. 

f  " 

J|ISSIS,"    said     Patty,    one    morning, 
~|! 
I   after  her  lieutenant,  Delia,  had  been 
J     sweeping  and  dusting  the  two  large 
parlors,    "Missis,    please    just   come    and 
look  at  these  carpets." 

It  was  more  trouble  to  say  "no"  than 
it  was  to  say  "yes,"  so  Mrs.  Bland 
rose  from  her  easy-chair  and  walked 
slowly  into  the  drawing-room,  through 
what  was  called  the  back  parlor.  The 
two  rooms  were  large  and  handsome, 
and  opened  into  each  other  by  huge 
sliding  doors  of  solid  mahogany.  A 

117 


118  TOE    ICE    RAFT. 

heavy  cornice  ran  round  the  ceiling, 
and  nearly  came  down  to  meet  the 
high  mantel  pieces  of  black  marble,  cheer- 
ful representations  of  Egyptian  tombs, 
which  the  taste  of  the  builder  had 
thought  an  appropriate  form  for  a  family 
hearth.  The  walls  were  covered  with 
a  flowery  paper  in  a  running  pattern, 
but  it  was  faded  and  dim  with  age. 
The  carpets  had,  in  their  day,  been 
handsome  brussels,  but  they  had  been 
purchased  forty  years  before.  They  had 
come  through  a  good  deal  of  wear  during 
Mr.  Eland's  life  time,  for  he  had  been 
a  social,  bustling  person,  fond  of  com- 
pany, and  through  the  summer  the  house 
had  been  full  of  visitors.  Since  his  death 
the  rooms  had  been  almost  entirely  shut 
up;  and,  in  spite  of  Patty's  care,  the 
moths  had  made  several  attacks  upon  the 
old  brussels. 


CHANGES   AND    IMPROVEMENTS.         119 

"Well,  Patty,"  said  Mrs.  Bland,  "what 
about  the  carpet?" 

"  Why,  just  look  at  it,  Mis«is,"  said 
Patty,  opening  the  blinds,  and  tli rowing 
a  flood  of  sunshine  upon  it.  "  It  ain't  fit 
to  be  seen." 

"Then  don't  look  at  it,  Patty,"  said 
Mrs.  Bland,  mildly,  sitting  down  on  the 
old  sofa,  and  drawing  her  shawl  round 
her,  for  the  air  had  that  creeping  chill, 
common  in  disused  rooms. 

"Other  folks  'ill  see  it  if  I  don't, 
Missis,"  said  Patty.  "  I  felt  real  'shamed 
for  the  credit  of  the  family,  the  other 
da}%  when  them  gentlemen  came  to  call 
on  the  Major,  and  Primus  brought  them 
in  here  to  have  'em  see  such  an  old 
faded  thing." 

"Well,  Patty,  I  don't  suppose  you  can 
make  the  carpet  new  again.  When  things 
once  grow  old  they  stay  so." 


120  THE    ICE    RAFT. 


"But,  Missis,  there's  plenty  of  carpets 
in  the  world  besides  these." 

"  Are  there  ?  Where  ?"  said  Mrs.  Bland, 
looking  about  her  as  if  she  expected  to  see 
the  said  carpet  piled  up  somewhere  about 
the  parlor. 

"  Laws,  Missis !  in  stores  of  course." 

"But  they  don't  belong  to  us,  Patty," 
said  Mrs.  Bland,  who  was  uncommonly 
slow  and  sleepy  that  morning. 

"  Dear  me,  Missis,  can't  you  take  some 
money  and  buy  new  ones,"  said  Patty, 
coming  to  the  root  of  .the  matter. 

"New  ones!"  murmured  Mrs.  Bland, 
dropping  her  head  and  looking  very  much 
like  some  soft,  sleepy  bird,  just  ready  to 
put  its  head  under  its  wing.  "  New 
carpets,  Patty!" 

"  Yes,  Missis,  and  have  these  rooms  new 
papered,  and  put  in  order,  and  kept  open ; 
'stead  of  being  shut  up  all  the  time  like  a 


CHANGES    AND   IMPROVEMENTS.         121 

vault,"  continued  Patty  boldly,  suddenly 
exposing  her  whole  design,  the  details  of 
which  she  and  Simeon  had  been  planning 
for  some  time. 

Mrs.  Bland  was  quite  overwhelmed  with 
so  many  new  ideas  at  once.  "  Really  I 
don't  know,"  she  said,  rising;  "you  had 
better  ask  Major  Monroe." 

"  Why,  Missis,  the  Major  won't  have 
anything  to  say  about  your  house.  He 
never  takes  nothing  on  himself,  nor  Miss 
Anne  neither;  but  young  folks  like  them," 
for  in  Patty's  eyes  Anne  and  the  Major 
were  young  things.  "  Why  it  stands  to 
reason  they  wants  a  little  diversion,  and 
to  see  people  now  and  then,  and  folks 
wants  to  know  'em  and  see  'em ;  cause  a 
real  lady  and  gentleman  like  them  is 
worth  knowing,  and  how's  they  ever  going 
to  see  folks  with  no  place  but  the  dining 
room  and  your  room,  and  here's  these  two 


122  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

great  handsome  parlors  just  kept  shut  up 
to  'coramodate  the  moths  and  black 
beetles." 

"  But  how  should  I  get  the  carpets  ?" 
murmured  Mrs.  Bland.  "I  dare  say  Miss 
Anne  could  do  that  though,"  she  added  in 
a  more  lively  tone. 

"  Course  she  could,  Missis ;  Miss  Anne's 
got  good  judgment." 

"  Very  well  then,  ask  her  to  be  so  good 
as  to  get  the  carpets  the  next  time  she 
goes  to  town.  She  needn't  go  down  on 
purpose,  but  when  she  goes  for  herself." 

"  And  the  paper,  Missis  ?" 

"  Ask  Major  Monroe." 

"  Shall  I  tell  him  you  want  him  to  get 
it,  and  'range  for  the  men  to  come  and  put 
it  on  ?"  asked  Patty. 

"  Yes,  if  it  won't  be  too  much  trouble ; 
but  I  don't  think  he  minds  trouble  much. 
When  he  was  at  the  West  he  used  to  go 


CHANGES   AND   IMPROVEMENTS.         123 

hunting  bears,  and  I  don't  think  it  will  be 
as  hard  to  find  the  paper  and  the  paper 
men ;  and  Patty  tell  Primus  to  make 
some  good  fires  in  the  grates  here  now.  It- 
feels  so  cool  and  damp,"  and  Mrs.  Bland 
went  back  to  her  own  room  quite  ex- 
hausted with  so  much  talking. 

Patty  carried  her  message  up  to  the 
schoolroom  where  Anne  and  Will  received 
it  with  considerable  surprise,  and  went 
down  to  talk  over  the  details  with  their 
aunt. 

"  Patty,"  said  Diana,  seizing  upon  the 
old  woman,  "is  aunt  going  to  have  the 
parlors  open  and  use  them  ?" 

"  I  'spect  so,  Miss  Di,"  said  Patty,  who 
was  greatly  delighted  with  the  success  of 
her  attack. 

"  How  nice  that  will  be,"  said  Dick. 

"  Yes,  Master  Dick,  I  think  it  will  bo 
rather  a  'provement,'  and  Patty  went 


124  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

down  to  report  progress  to  Simeon  and 
Primus. 

"Aunt,"  said  Anne,  "I  didn't  quite 
understand  what  Patty  said  about  getting 
new  carpets  and  paper." 

"  Why,  you  see,  my  dears,"  answered 
Mrs.  Bland,  rousing  herself  from  her 
trance,  "Patty  thinks  the  parlors  might 
as  well  be  open  and  used,  as  kept  shut  up, 
especially  now  that  you  and  Will  are  here, 
and  people  come  to  see  you." 

"  Dear  Aunt  Sophy,"  said  the  Major, 
"I  am  sure  I  don't  want  to  put  you  the 
least  out  of  your  way  on  my  account." 

"But  it  doesn't,"  said  Mrs.  Bland,  who 
began  to  feel  that  there  had  been  a  good 
deal  of  sense  in  Patty's  remarks.  "If  you 
would  not  mind  taking  the  trouble,  Will ; 
for  really  I  am  sure  I  never  could  do  it 
myself,  and,  of  course,  you  like  to  have 
your  friends  come  to  see  you.  Mr.  Bland 


CHANGES   AND    IMPROVEMENTS.         125 

always  did,  and  if  they  come,  you  must 
take  them  somewhere,  and  the  parlor  is 
the  proper  place,  and  when  Mrs.  Leslie 
and  other  ladies  come  to  see  Anne  they 
can  sit  in  there,  and  leave  me  to  my  nap. 
I  think  it  will  be  very  convenient,  and 
the  carpets  are  worn ;  I  suppose  it  is  time ; 
they  were  put  down  when  I  first  came 
home,  forty  years  ago." 

"  But,  aunt,  it  will  cost  a  good  deal  to 
get  carpets  for  those  two  large  rooms," 
said  Anne. 

"Very  well,  my  dear,  then  you  had 
better  take  a  good  deal  of  money." 

"  I  am  afraid,  Aunt  Sophy,  you  don't 
think  how  much  it  will  all  cost  by  the 
time  it  is  done,"  said  the  Major,  who  saw 
how  much  the  arrangement  would  add  to 
his  sisters'  comfort,  and  yet  hardly  liked 
that  his  aunt  should  meet  expense  on 
their  account. 


126  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

"  My  dear,  I  have  plenty  of  money ;  I 
am  quite  sure  I  have.  I  haven't  spent  all 
my  income,  and  I'll  tell  you  how  I  know," 
said  Mrs.  Bland,  settling  herself  in  her 
chair.  "  Two  summers  ago — or  was  it 
three — really  I  don't  know,  which  was  it, 
Anne  ?" 

"  What  happened,  aunt  ?" 

"  I  am  sure  I  can't  tell  whether  it  was 
two  or  three.  It  was  when  the  brindled 
cat  was  a  kitten  I  know,"  said  Mrs.  Bland, 
in  a  puzzle.  "  But  whether  it  was  in 
'47  or  '48  I  really  cannot  say ;  Patty  would 
be  able  to  tell,  because  she  disliked  her 
so  much." 

"  Disliked  who,  Aunt  Sophy  ?" 

"Your  cousin  Hamilton,  when  she 
visited  here." 

"That  was  three  years  ago — in  '47, 
aunt,"  said  Anne ;  "  because  she  came 
here  from  Darton." 


CHANGES   AND   IMPROVEMENTS.         127 

"Yes,  so  it  was.  Thank  you,  Anne, 
love.  Well,  she  made  me  so  uncom- 
fortable, you  can't  think,  because  she 
was  always  saying  that  I  was  being 
eaten  up  by  drones;  and,  at  first,  I 
thought  she  meant  the  bees  that  got 
into  the  preserve  closet  once ;  but,  finally, 
she  said  she  meant  Simeon,  and  Patty, 
and  Primus,  and  Delia;  and  she  said 
they  were  using  up  all  that  I  had  in 
the  world,  and  that  I  should  die  in  the 
poorhouse.  1  didn't  mind  much  at  first, 
because  it  seemed  so  improbable;  but, 
someway,  she  kept  saying  it  over  till 
I  had  to  think  of  it,  and  it  made  me 
very  uncomfortable  at  last,  for  I  did 
not  see,  if  I  spent  all  my  money,  what 
was  to  become  of  Simeon,  and  Patty, 
and  the  horses,  and  the  old  cat.  So 
I  went  one  day  and  asked  Mr.  Parsons, 
who  manages  all  rny  business,  if  it  was 


128  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

really  true  that  I  was  using  up  every- 
thing, and  he  said  it  wasn't,  and  made 
it  all  out  for  me  in  figures  how  much 
I'd  spent,  and  how  much  I  had.  I  don't 
remember  how  much  it  was  exactly, 
but  I  know  there  were  more  figures  on 
the  keeping  side  than  there  was  on  the 
spending  one." 

"  Cousin  Hamilton  has  the  knack  of 
worrying,"  observed  Will. 

"And  then  she  kept  telling  me  that 
I  didn't  want  so  many  people  about  the 
house,  and  that  a  poor  family  might 
be  kept  on  what  I  spent  on  Simeon 
and  Patty,  and  that  I  ought  to  send 
them  away,  and  do  with  one  girl  and 
a  boy ;  but  I  didn't  know  any  poor  family 
to  keep,  and  I  did  know  Simeon  and 
Patty,  and  Primus  was  their  son,  'and 
he  was  born  in  this  house.  Simeon 
was  Mr.  Eland's  old  servant,  and  Patty 


CHANGES    AND   IMPROVEMENTS.         129 

was  here  when  I  came ;  and,  as  for 
Delia,  why  Patty  wanted  some  one  to 
help  her,  and  she  was  a  poor,  forlorn 
little  thing,  only  ten  years  old  when  she 
first  came,  and  she's  never  very  strong. 
It  always  does  seem  as  if  God  meant 
you  should  take  care  of  people,  you  know ; 
and  I  always  give  Mr.  Leslie  money 
when  he  asks  for  it,  for  any  poor  person. 
Really,  Anne,  you  can't  think  how  un- 
comfortable your  cousin  Hamilton  made 
me  while  she  stayed.  I  really  was  glad 
when  she  married  that  gentleman  and 
went  to  Java — Java  is  a  good  ways  off, 
isn't  it,  Will?"  asked  Aunt  Sophy,  hope- 
fully. 

"Yes,  dear  aunt,"  said  Will,  who  was 
leaning  over  the  back  of  his  aunt's  chair; 
"  I  am  not  sorry  to  say  it  is.  Any 
one  must  have  a  cast  iron  disposition 
to  tease  you.  But  about  these  carpets?" 


130  THE    ICE    RAFT. 


0 !  you  and  Anne  can  just  go  and 
get  them  when  you  go  down  to  town." 

"  Hadn't  you  better  choose  them  your- 
self, Aunt  Soph}',"  said  Anne;  "I  might 
not  suit  your  taste." 

"  Ask  your  brother,  my  dear." 

"And  the  paper  must  suit  with  the 
carpet.  Really,  aunt,  I  wish  you  would 
come  with  us,"  said  the  Major. 

"  You  can  ask  your  sister,  you  know. 
Just  please  yourself.  You  will  save  me  a 
great  deal  of  trouble  if  you  only  will  do 
just  as  you  like,"  and  that  was  all  that 
could  be  got  out  of  Mrs.  Bland  in  the  way 
of  direction. 

"  If  this  is  to  be  done  at  all,  the  paper- 
ing I  mean,"  said  Will,  "  it  should  be  done 
directly,  before  the  fall  rains  come  on." 

"  Very  well,  do  it  to-day  if  you  like," 
said  Mrs.  Bland,  composing  herself  for  a 
nap. 


CHANGES   AND  IMPROVEMENTS.        131 

For  the  next  month  there  was  an 
upturning  in  the  house  which  was  delight- 
ful to  the  children.  As  usual,  one  repair 
made  another  necessary.  Painters  came 
with  the  paperers,  and  a  varnisher  after 
them.  Mrs.  Bland  never  paid  the  least 
attention  to  the  matter  herself,  except  to 
say  as  she  was  questioned,  "  ask  Major 
Monroe/'  or  "ask  Miss  Anne." 

When  the  work  was  done  Major  Monroe 
sent  for  their  own  parlor  furniture  which 
was  stored  in  Darton,  and  when  it  was 
arranged  in  the  parlors  where  there  was 
plenty  of  room  for  it,  without  crowding 
out  the  heavy  old  chairs  and  tables,  the 
whole  effect  of  the  rooms  was  very  pretty, 
and  Simeon  and  Patty  averred  that  this 
was  something  like  living.  Mrs.  Bland, 
now  that  the  work  was  done,  was  much 
pleased.  She  forsook  her  own  little  back 
room,  where  she  had  lived  so  long,  and 


132  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

only  retired  thither  when  she  wished  to 
take  a  nap,  which,  to  be  sure,  was  pretty 
often.  She  even  went  to  the  length  of 
giving  a  dinner  party,  and  Anne  who  had 
lived  almost  like  a  nun  in  a  convent  ever 
since  she  carne  to  Menango,  found  herself 
to  her  surprise  much  sought  after  and 
called  upon  by  the  young  ladies  of  the 
town,  and  invited  out  to  evening  gather- 
ings and  to  tea  parties.  Menango  was 
much  given  to  morning  calls,  and  some- 
what to  Anne's  annoyance  she  found  her 
day  sadly  broken  by  these  visits,  and  the 
children's  lessons  interrupted. 

One  morning  towards  the  middle  of 
September  the  Major  came  into  the  school- 
room just  as  the  lessons  were  finished,  and 
asked  the  children  how  they  would  like  to 
go  to  school. 

"  To  school !"  exclaimed  Diana,  opening 
her  eyes  wide,  "  away  from  home  ?" 


CHANGES   AND   IMPROVEMENTS.         133 

"  No,  not  farther  than  Mcnango,"  said 
Anne. 

"  Why,  Will,  do  you  really  mean  it  ?" 
said  Dick,  half  pleased  and  half  doubtful. 

"  Yes,  Dick,  I  think  we  do,"  said  Will, 
sitting  down  and  drawing  his  brother 
towards  him. 

"  But  don't  we  learn  as  much  of  Anne 
as  we  should  in  school  ?"  said  Diana,  perch- 
ing herself  on  her  brother's  knee. 

"A  great  deal  more  I  have  no  doubt," 
said  Will;  "but  Dick  is  growing  a  great 
boy,  and  both  Anne  and  I  think  it  would 
be  better  for  you  to  be  more  with  other 
children." 

"  But  it  will  cost  more,  Will,"  said  Dick. 

"  I  know ;  but  not  so  very  much,  and  to 
tell  you  a  secret,  Anne  has  found  a  little 
gold  fairy  who  has  coined  some  silver  six- 
pences for  her  out  of  old  bits  of  paper." 

"  What    do    you    mean  ?"    said    Dick, 

12 


134  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

but  Anne  only  smiled,  and  would  say 
nothing;  and  the  Major  was  equally 
mysterious. 

"  But  when  are  we  to  go  ?"  asked 
Diana. 

"  Monday  morning." 

"And  this  is  Friday.  How  long  have 
you  known  about  it?"  said  Dick,  feeling 
rather  injured  at  having  been  kept  in 
the  dark. 

"  We  only  made  up  our  ininds  last 
night,  or  you  should  have  had  longer 
notice.  From  all  I  can  hear,  Mr.  Lyon, 
at  the  academy,  is  a  very  good  teacher, 
and  I  liked  him  when  I  saw  him." 

Dick  looked  rather  doubtful.  He  had 
an  idea  that  there  would  be  a  great 
difference  between  Mr.  Lyon's  method  and 
Anne's. 

"Dear  me!"  said  Diana,  "I  shall  be 
afraid  of  him;  but,  of  course,  I  must 


CHANGES   AND   IMPROVEMENTS.        135 

go  if  Dick  does.  John  likes  it  there 
very  well." 

"So  he  tells  me;  so  now  run  away, 
and  make  the  most  of  your  play  time 
while  you  have  it." 

Will  and  Anne  went  down-stairs. 
Anne  carrying  Mrs.  Bland's  shawl,  which 
she  had  just  finished.  Mrs.  Bland  was 
greatly  delighted  with  it,  and  once  more 
asserted  her  belief  that  Anne  must  be 
very  clever. 

Just  then,  however,  came  a  carriage 
full  of  callers,  and  Anne  went  into  the 
parlor  to  receive  them,  leaving  Will 
and  her  aunt  to  follow  at  their  leisure. 

"I  am  so  glad  you  lost  that  money, 
my  dear,  in  the  bank,"  said  Mrs.  Bland, 
looking  up  into  Will's  face;  "because, 
you  know,  if  you  had  not,  Anne  and 
the  children  never  would  have  come 
here,  nor  you  to  stay  so  long,  and  it 


136  THE    ICE    HAFT. 

is  such  a  comfort  to  have  you;  and 
Anne  has  made  me  a  shawl,  and  all." 

"Dear  Aunt  Sophy,"  said  Will,  sitting 
down  on  a  stool  at  her  i'ect  like  a  great 
boy,  "I  can't  tell  you  how  much  I 
thank  you  for  all  your  goodness  to  us." 

"  I  don't  see  any  goodness  about  it. 
I  wish  you  would  stay  here  all  the 
time,  and  not  go  back  to  that  dangerous 
western  country.  Every  once  in  a  while 
there  is  an  Indian  war,  and  then  you 
might  have  to  fight  a  battle,  and  that's 
unsafe ;  I  am  sure  it  is.  Why  can't 
you  stay  here  all  the  time?" 

"  Because  I  must  go  where  I  am  sent 
— being  in  the  army  —  and  because  I 
must  have  my  pay,  you  know,  Aunt 
Sophy." 

"But  that  is  not  so  very  much,  and 
why  can't  you  just  as  well  take  it  of 
me  as  the  Government  ?" 


CHANGES    AND   IMPROVEMENTS.         137 

"  Dear  aunty,  you  are  just  as  kind 
as  you  can  be,  but  I  couldn't  live  on 
you  in  that  way;  and  I  don't  feel  that 
I'm  old  enough  to  resign  yet." 

"But  you  know  all  that  I  have  be- 
longs to  me,"  said  Mrs.  Bland.  "  Mr. 
Bland  would  leave  it  to  me,  and  when 
people  talked  to  him  about  it,  he  said 
I  had  more  sense  than  people  generally 
gave  rne  credit  for.  And  you  and  Anne 
are  the  nearest  relations  I  have,  except 
Cousin  Hamilton,  and  she's  not  very 
near,  now  she  is  in  Java.  Dear  Will, 
I  wish  you  would  let  me  do  something 
for  you.  You  have  been  so  good  about 
overseeing  the  painting,  and  the  paper 
and  all." 

"  You  are  doing  for  me  all  the  while, 
Aunt  Sophy,"  said  Will.  "  It  is  the 
greatest  comfort  in  the  world  to  think  of 
Anne  and  the  children  being  with  you." 

12* 


138  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

"  Anne  is  so  nice  and  the  children  are 
such  good  little  things/'  said  Mrs.  Bland; 
"  but  now  I  suppose  we  had  better  go  into 
the  parlor.  How  fortunate  it  was  that 
Patty  thought  of  having  the  parlors 
opened.  She  is  very  clever,  Patty  is,  very 
indeed." 

"  Dick,"  said  Will  to  his  brother  when 
they  were  sitting  together  upon  the  porch 
that  evening,  "your  Aunt  Sophy  is  one  of 
the  dearest  women  in  the  world." 

"That  she  is,  Will.  She  lets  one  do 
just  what  they  like." 

"  That's  a  very  good  reason  in  your  eyes 
I  dare  say,"  said  the  Major,  smiling;  "but 
do  you  take  care  never  to  like  to  do  any- 
thing that  can  make  her  uncomfortable. 
We  owe  her  a  great  deal.  Think  how 
differently  we  should  have  been  situated 
but  for  her,  and  of  her  unfailing  kindness 
ever  since  we  came,"  and  then  Will 


CHANGES   AND   IMPROVEMENTS.         139 

repeated  part  of  that  morning's  talk  with 
his  aunt. 

"  I'm  sure  I  wish  you  could  stay,  Will," 
said  Dick,  sighing ;  "  but  of  course  we 
could  not  live  on  her  in  that  fashion ;  but 
how  good  she  is.  0!"  thought  Dick  to 
himself,  "  what  a  fool — and  worse  than 
a  fool  I  was  to  talk  about  her  as  I  did  at 
Mr.  Briggs'.  I  wish  Osborne  would  never 
come  home,"  and  then  Dick  looked  up  and 
saw  Osborne  coming  up  the  walk. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A      DISCOVERY. 

SAY,  Dick  Monroe."  called  out  Osborne 
in  his  coarsest,  loudest  voice,  "  I  wish 
you'd  just  give  me  back  them  books 
of  mine." 

Poor  Dick !  he  held  down  his  head  and 
muttered  something  about  finding  them 
some  other  time,  and  not  knowing  where 
they  were. 

"  Why,  Dick,  if  you  have  borrowed  books 
of  Master  Briggs,  you  must  surely  know 
where  they  are,"  said  his  brother. 

"  I'll  be  bound  he  knows  where  they  are 
fast   enough,"  said   Osborne,  with  a  disa- 
140 


A   DISCOVERY.  141 

greeable  laugh.  "  Any  way  I  want  'em, 
so  I  wish  you'd  hunt  'em  up,  and  the 
papers,  too." 

Dick  vainly  made  signs  for  Osborne  to 
be  silent,  as  he  rose  reluctantly. 

"  I'll  bring  them  up  to  your  house  this 
evening,  Osborne,"  he  said,  "  I  meant  to 
send  them  home  before." 

"  No,  I'll  take  them  now ;  I'd  rather ;  I'm 
going  to  have  some  fellows  at  our  house 
to-night.  I  ain't  ashamed  to  have  any  one 
know  what  books  I  read." 

'''I  hope  you  have  no  cause,  Master 
Osborne,"  said  the  Major,  politely.  "Go 
and  get  the  books,  Dick,  and  another  time 
do  not  wait  to  have  borrowed  books  sent 
for  before  you  return  them." 

Dick  departed  reluctantly,  but  then  he 
remembered  that  he  could  wrap  them  in 
a  newspaper  so  that  his  brother  would  not 
see  them. 


142  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

He  ran  up  to  his  own  room  and  reraoved 
the  chimney-board,  which  covered  the  fire- 
place in  summer.  Hardly  had  he  done  so 
when  he  heard  his  brother's  step  in  the 
hall,  and  the  next  instant  Will  came  into 
the  room.  The  Major  had  not  the  least 
intention  of  playing  the  spy,  he  had  come 
for  his  knife  which  he  had  left  in  Dick's 
room  that  morning. 

"  Why,  Dick,  that  is  a  very  odd  place  to 
keep  books  in,"  he  said,  still  quite  unsuspi- 
cious, and  then  seeing  Dick's  look  of 
confusion  and  his  sudden  movement  to 
replace  the  chimney-board,  he  added  more 
gravely,  "  I  am  rather  curious  to  see  what 
sort  of  reading  Master  Briggs  is  fond  of." 

"0,  don't  Will,"  cried  Dick.  "Please 
don't,"  he  said  beseechingly,  as  Will  picked 
up  one  of  the  books,  whose  coarse,  gray 
paper,  and  hideous  wood  cuts,  suited  well 
with  the  matter  of  the  letter  press. 


The  discovery.     page  142. 


A   DISCOVERY.  143 

"  Surely,  what  you  read  cannot  hurt 
me,"  said  the  Major,  as  Dick  tried  to  take 
the  book  out  of  his  hand.  He  turned  over 
the  pages  while  Dick  stood  by  in  an  agony, 
and  then  flung  the  book  down  as  if  it  had 
burned  him.  "  Is  it  possible  that  you 
have  read  this  horrible  stuff?"  he  asked. 

"0,  Will !  I've  never  read  a  word  of  it 
since  you  came  home — not  a  word,"  said 
Dick,  distressed. 

"  And  these  detestable  papers  with 
your  name  on  them,  and  these  low  novels ! 
It  is  a  shame  that  such  things  should  be 
printed  in  a  civilized  country,  and  not  one 
of  them  is  fit  to  come  into  a  respectable 
house.  And  you  must  have  known  you 
were  doing  wrong  to  read  them,  or  you 
never  would  have  hidden  them  away  from 
me.  0,  Dick !  I  thought  I  could  trust 
you,  and  I  certainly  hoped  you  could  me !" 

"I  didn't  mean   to  deceive   you,  Will, 


144  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

indeed  I  didn't,"  said  Dick,  almost  in  tears, 
"  but  after  you  came  home  I  never  read  a 
word  of  them,  and  I  felt  sorry  and  ashamed 
that  I'd  ever  seen  them,  and  I  couldn't 
bear  to  have  you  know  it.  I  know  they 
are  hateful  things  and  I  wish  I'd  never 
seen  them ;  Osborne  gave  them  to  me  in 
the  first  place,  and  I  wish  I'd  never  seen 
him  either." 

"  Don't  try  to  lay  the  blame  on  any  one 
else,"  said  the  Major,  sharply ;  "  you  knew 
better  than  to  take  such  books.  Dick,  if 
you  will  tell  me  honestly  you  did  not 
know  they  were  wicked — perhaps  you  did 
not." 

"  I  did,  I  did,  Will,"  said  Dick  ;  "  I  ran 
away  to  read  them,  and  read  after  I  went 
to  bed,  and  once  when  Aunt  Sophy  found 
me  with  that  thing  of  Dumas',  I  said  it 
was  Masterman  Ready;  not  that  she'd 
have  known  about  the  other." 


A   DISCOVERY.  145 

"  So  much  the  more  shame  for  you  to 
deceive  her.  Go  and  take  those  things," 
said  the  Major,  looking  at  the  books  with 
infinite  disgust.  "  Go  and  take  those 
things  down  to  Osborne  and  then  come 
back  to  me." 

Dick  obeyed,  put  the  books  and  papers 
together  and  went  down  to  Osborne. 

"I  suppose  that  dandified  brother  of 
yours  has  been  given  you  a  blowing  up," 
said  Osborne,  sneeringly. 

"  If  he  did  I  deserved  it,"  said  Dick, 
boldly.  "  We  had  no  business  to  read 
such  things,  and  I've  been  ashamed  ever 
since  I  had  time  to  think  about  it.  Do 
burn  them  up  and  don't  read  them  any 
more." 

"  Pshaw !  as  if  there  was  any  harm  in 
a  little  fun.  You've  lived  with  your  sis- 
ters and  that  old  fool  of  an  aunt  of  yours, 
till  you're  just  a  great  girl-baby  yourself." 

13 


146  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

"  Osborne  Briggs,"  said  Dick,  in  a 
passion,  "  if  you  talk  so  about  my  aunt  I'll 
knock  you  down." 

"0,  dear!  I'd  like  to  see  you  do  it! 
How  long  since  you  felt  so  ?"  said  Osborne, 
rather  drawing  back  nevertheless.  "  I 
wonder  who-  made  any  more  fun  of  the  old 
lady  than  you  did,  at  our  house?" 

"  If  I  did  I  was  a  fool,  and  worse,"  said 
Dick,  vehemently,  "  and  you  led  me  into 
it;  more  shame  for  me!  and  if  I  ever 
catch  you  repeating  any  of  that  stuff 
you'll  see  what  you'll  get." 

This  was  a  most  unwise  speech  on 
Dick's  part,  as  it  once  showed  "Osborne  the 
hold  which  he  possessed  over  his  former 
admirer. 

<:  0!  no,  of  course  I  won't  repeat  it,"  he 
answered  tauntingly,  "you  may  bet  some- 
thing on  that.  Suppose  I  just  go  into  the 
house  now,  and  tell  them  all  about  it," 


A   DISCOVERT.  147 

and  then  as  he  heard  Anne's  voice  in  the 
hall,  he  turned  away  with  a  threatening 
gesture,  and  left  Dick  to  his  own  reflec- 
tions, which  were  by  no  means  agreeable 
as  he  slowly  ascended  the  stairs  and  re- 
turned to  Will. 

"Have  you  ever  shown  any  of  these 
precious  volumes  to  Diana?"  asked  the 
Major,  as  he  entered  the  room. 

"0,  no,  Will,  of  course  I  hadn't,"  said 
Dick,  "  and  she  wouldn't  have  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  them  if  I  had.  We 
found  a  book,  I  forget  the  title  of  it, 
up  in  the  garret  once,  and  she  read  a  little 
of  it  and  threw  it  out  of  the  window, 
because  she  knew  it  was  a  hateful  bad 
book,  and  she  wouldn't  read  such  stuff." 

"  I  am  glad  Diana  has  so  much  sense. 
I  wish  you  had." 

"  But,  Will,"  said  Dick, "  isn't  it  different 
for  a  boy  ?" 


148  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

"That  is  the  idea  with  some  but  it's 
not  mine.  It  seems  to  me  a  young  man 
needs  the  safeguard  of  a  pure  heart  and 
imagination,  even  more  than  a  woman,  for 
lie  is  more  exposed  to  temptation.  Did 
you  ever  hear  that  all  the  exhortations  to 
purity  of  life  in  the  Bible  were  addressed 
to  women  alone.  Does  St.  Paul  say, 
*  Whatsoever  things  are  pure,  whatsoever 
things  are  lovely,  let  the  women  think  on 
these  things.  It's  different  for  men '  ?  Is 
St.  Peter  speaking  to  women  alone,  when 
he  tells  his  converts  'to  be  holy  in  all 
manner  of  conversation '  ?" 

"No,"  said  Dick,  "but  I  didn't  think 
about  that." 

"  There  was  the  trouble  I  suspect,  Dick  ; 
I  would  have  given  anything  I  have  in  the 
world,  rather  than  have  found  those  vile 
books  in  your  possession,  hidden  away  in 
that  fashion,  too." 


A    DISCOVERY.  149 

"  But  Will,"  said  Dick,  rather  timidly, 
"don't  you — I  mean  do  you,  ever  read 
anything  you  wouldn't  want  everybody  to 
know  ?" 

"  I  wonder  if  I  have  ever  given  you  any 
reason  to  think  me  a  liar  and  a  hypocrite," 
gaid  the  Major  hotly,  and  he  turned  away 
and  began  walking  up  and  down  the  room. 

"  0,  Will,  no,  of  course  not.  Please 
don't  be  so  angry  with  me,"  said  Dick, 
greatly  distressed.  "  Only  Osborne  said 
all  gentlemen  did,  and  that  officers  were 
very  different  in  garrison  from  what  they 
were  out." 

"Osborne  is  undoubtedly  a  judge  of  the 
manners  and  customs  of  gentlemen,  and 
on  Ids  word  you  could  believe  that  I  was 
a  humbug  and  a  Pharisee.  I  don't  think 
I  should  have  been  so  ready  to  believe  lies 
about  you."  Will  stopped  his  walk  up 
and  down  the  room,  turned  away  his  face, 


150  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

and  stood  looking  out  of  the  window  trying 
to  regain  his  composure,  for  he  was  both 
hurt  and  provoked. 

"  I  didn't  believe  it,  Will,  I  didn't,"  said 
Dick,  "  not  a  minute  after  you  came  home. 
I  don't  see  what  possessed  me  to  run  after 
Osborne,  and  to  act  as  I  did  this  summer. 
I've  been  dreadfully  ashamed  of  myself 
ever  since  I  really  thought  about  it,  and  I 
wish,  as  much  as  you  do,  I'd  never  seen 
the  hateful  things,  and  I've  tried  to  do 
right,  and  get  my  lessons,  and  be  good  to 
Anne  and  Di  ever  since  that  morning. 
Indeed  I  have,  "Will." 

"  I  think  you  have,  Dick,"  said  the 
Major,  softening ;  "  but  what  troubles  me 
most  in  the  matter  is,  that  you  should  be 
willing  to  be  led  by  that  fellow." 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  see  what  possessed 
me,"  repeated  Dick. 

"  I  can  tell  you,  if  you  really  want  to 


A   DISCOVERY.  151 

know;  I  greatly  suspect  it  was  self-will 
and  conceit,  and  an  idea  that  you  were 
doing  something  fine  and  manly,  because 
you  were  doing  something  you  knew  Anne 
would  not  like.  Didn't  you  think  your- 
self too  grand  to  obey  any  one  ?" 

Dick  looked  down,  he  was  ashamed  to 
say  yes,  and  he  was  too  conscious  to  say 
no. 

u  I  was  perverse,"  he  acknowledged 
at  last. 

"  I  am  afraid  so,  but  I  give  you  due 
credit  for  trying  to  do  better.  I  have 
noticed  it,  and  been  glad  to  see  it;  but 
look  here,  Dick,"  said  the  Major,  ear- 
nestly, "  don't  let  any  foolish  talk,  or 
mischief-maker  come  between  you  and 
me.  I  give  you  my  word  of  honor 
that  I  have  never  read  what  I  knew  to 
be  base  and  vile,  or  have  I  frequented 
bad  or  low  company.  I  haven't  always 


152  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

resisted  sin  as  I  ought,  I  know,  and  my 
temper  has  led  me  into  trouble  more 
than  once ;  but  if  I  have  been  able,  under 
God's  grace,  to  resist,  where  some  that 
I  know  have  given  way,  it  is  owing 
more  to  Anne's  influence  than  to  any- 
thing else.  It  was  her  example  and 
life  that  led  me,  in  the  first  place,  to 
call  myself  Christ's  disciple,  and  you 
can  have  no  better  guide  or  adviser 
than  your  sister." 

Will  spoke  with  a  good  deal  of  emotion, 
and  Dick  was  much  moved,  for  his 
brother  was  generally  slow  to  speak  of 
his  own  personal  feelings,  and  was  more 
given  to  acting  than  to  talking  of  his 
religion. 

"0,  Will!  I  am  sorry,"  said  Dick, 
now  fairly  crying;  "and  I  didn't  mean 
to  deceive  you  exactly,  only  I  was  so 
ashamed  to  have  you  know  what  I'd 


A   DISCOVERY.  153 

been  doing;  but  I'll  never  read  another 
book  without  asking  you  or  Anne,  if 
you  say  so,  and  I  don't  care  what  you 
do  to  me ;  I  deserve  it  all." 

"  I'm  not  going  to  do  anything  to 
you,"  said  Will,  kindly,  taking  Dick's 
hand  in  his  own,  "only  to  tell  you 
never  to  have  anything  farther  to  do 
with  that  boy.  Will  you  remember?" 

"Yes,  indeed.  I'm  sure  I  don't  want 
anything  to  do  with  him." 

"  See  that  you  don't.  If  he  says  any- 
thing about  it,  tell  him  in  so  many 
words  I  told  you  not  to  play  with 
him." 

"  And  you'll  forgive  me,  Will  ?" 

"Yes,  my  boy — only  give  me  your 
word  to  let  Osborne,  and  his  books,  and 
his  talk  alone  in  future." 

"I  will,  indeed,"  said  Dick,  fully 
meaning  what  he  said.  "  I  hope  I'll 


154  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

never  be  such  a  fool  again ;  I'm  sure  I 
sha'n't." 

"You  can't  be  sure,"  said  the  Major; 
"  and  that  is  not  the  safest  way  either. 
There  is  only  One  who  can  keep  you 
in  the  straight  path,  and  he  has  given 
you  a  sure  guide,  if  you'll  only  look  to 
Him." 

"  I  know,  Will,  and  that  was  some 
more  of  Osborne's  nonsense  I  listened 
to.  He  said  only  girls  and  milk  sops 
said  their  prayers,  or  cared  anything  for 
religion." 

"  Don't  you  think  Washington,  and 
Oliver  Cromwell,  and  William  of  Orange 
were  rather  men  than  otherwise  ?" 

"I  think  I  needn't  have  looked  that 
far  to  see  what  stuff  it  was,"  said 
Dick,  proudly.  "I  think  I  might  have 
remembered  how  you  brought  off  Ser- 
geant May,  after  the  Camanches  had 


A  DISCOVERY.  155 

got  him,  charging  right  into  the  middle 
of  them  all  alone." 

"  Never  mind  that,  Dick,"  said  the 
Major,  coloring,  very  much  indeed  like  a 
girl ;  "  and  now  I  shall  never  say  another 
word  about  this  matter,  only  to  ask  you 
to  remember  when  you  are  in  school  with 
all  sorts  of  boys,  that  you  must  not  be  led 
into  wrong  doing  for  fear  of  a  laugh.  As 
to  Osborne  Briggs  I  trust  your  word,  and 
now  we  had  better  go  down  stairs." 

"  I  think  I'll  go  to  bed,"  said  Dick  ;  "  I 
don't  feel  like  talking." 

"  Very  well,  I'll  make  your  excuses. 
Good-night,  dear." 

"  I've  got  off  a  sight  better  than  I 
deserved,"  said  Dick  to  himself \  when  he 
was  left  alone.  "  Never  say  another  word 
about  the  matter  !  I'll  be  bound  he  won't; 
that's  one  good  thing  about  Will.  He  just 
comes  clown  on  you  and  done  with  it.  He 


156  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

don't  keep  tagging  at  a  fellow  all  the 
while.  I  most  wish  I  had  told  him  how  I 
talked  about  aunty;  but  after  what  she 
said  this  morning  he'd  have  been  so 
provoked  and  sorry,  and  she'll  never  know 
it.  It's  all  over  now. ' 

But  it  was  unhappily  not  all  over. 
Dick  said  his  prayers  with  much  more 
than  his  usual  sense  of  their  meaning,  and 
was  soon  sound  asleep. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

GOING     TO      SCHOOL. 

FTER  the  children  had  left  her  for 
their  first  day  in  school,  that  Monday 
morning,  Anne  went  up  into  the 
deserted  school-room  and  cried.  She  felt 
it  was  right  they  should  go,  the  plan  had 
been  her  own  to  begin  with,  but  still  she 
felt  lonely,  and  as  if  the  little  brother  and 
sister,  who  had  been  her  care  so  long,  were 
going  out  from  her  into  the  world,  and 
would  never  be  what  they  had  been  before. 
The  children  went  down  to  the  academy 
in  the  carriage  with  Will,  chatting  all  the 
way  until  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
14  157 


158  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

academy  building,  when  they  became 
suddenly  silent.  Diana  squeezed  Dick's 
hand  in  a  state  of  excitement ;  not  quite 
fear,  but  something  a  little  like  it,  and  yet 
not  altogether  unpleasant. 

The  academy  was  a  large  square  brick 
building  with  faded  green  blinds.  At 
some  remote  period  it  had  been  painted 
white,  but  the  paint  had  peeled  off  in 
spots  and  streaks,  giving  it  an  agreeable 
speckled  and  mottled  appearance.  It  stood 
in  a  large  square  enclosure  containing 
several  noble  elms,  and  a  few  half-grown 
maples.  School  had  begun,  so  that  there 
was  no  one  to  be  seen  about  the  place, 
except  one  little  girl  in  a  pink  sunbonnet, 
who  was  evidently  late,  and  was  in  no 
hurry  to  enter. 

"  0,  dear !"  said  Diana,  to  herself,  "  I 
wonder  if  I  shall  like  it;"  while  Dick 
thought  that  there  was  a  famous  play- 


GOING   TO    SCHOOL.  159 


ground,  and  wondered  if  John  had  ever 
climbed  the  tallest  of  those  big  oak  trees. 

There  was  a  bell  at  the  door,  and  Will's 
summons  was  answered  by  a  tall,  precise, 
prim-looking  young  man,  whom  you  would 
have  known  for  a  school-master,  if  you 
had  met  him  in  the  Arabian  Desert. 

In  answer  to  Will's  polite  inquiry  for 
Mr.  Lyon,  he  made  a  bow  of  rather  a 
wooden  description,  and  ushered  them  into 
a  little  room  where  was  a  strip  of  carpet, 
two  venerable  globes,  and  a  large  book- 
case containing  a  variety  of  books  well- 
selected  and  apparently  much  used. 

Dick  and  Diana  were  reading  over  the 
titles  when  Mr.  Lyon  entered  with  the 
book  he  had  been  using  in  his  hand.  His 
entrance  was  so  sudden,  swift,  and  still, 
that  the  children  opened  their  eyes  and 
wondered  whether  he  always  went  about 
like  that. 


160  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

Mr.  Lyon  was  rather  a  small  gentleman 
with  a  hook  nose,  a  firm  set  mouth,  a  pair 
of  bright,  dark-blue,  deep  set  eyes,  under 
black  brows  and  lashes,  a  wide,  rather 
low  forehead,  which  he  had  a  habit  of 
wrinkling  up  in  an  odd  fashion,  and  a 
thick  crop  of  iron-grey  hair  standing 
straight  up  on  the  top  of  his  head. 

"  Good-morning,  sir,"  he  said  to  Will  in 
a  sharp,  quick,  yet  very  courteous  tone 
and  manner.  "  I  suppose  these  two  are 
your  young  people.  Good-morning,  sir. 
Good-morning,  ma'am,"  and  he  made  two 
little,  swift  bows  to  Dick  and  Diana,  who 
were  so  altogether  taken  by  surprise  that 
they  could  only  stand  and  look,  first  at 
Mr.  Lyon  and  then  at  each  other. 

"Yes,"  said  the  Major;  "I  am  afraid 
you  will  find  them  rather  ignorant  about 
the  way  things  are  managed  in  school,  for 
they  have  always  studied  at  home,  but  as 


GOING    TO    SCHOOL.  161 

far  as  they  have  gone  in  their  books,  they 
have  been  pretty  well  drilled  by  my 
sinter." 

"  Doubtless,  doubtless ;  I  have  had  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  Miss  Monroe,  a  very 
superior  young  woman,  very  superior. 
What  would  you  wish  the  young  people  to 
study  ?" 

"  We  leave  that  to  you,  Mr.  Lyon. 
You  can  tell  when  you  have  examined 
them  what  classes  they  are  fit  for." 

"Yes,  sir,  certainly,"  and  all  on  a 
sudden,  almost  without  time  to  say  good- 
by  to  Will,  and  hear  his  whispered  word 
of  encouragement,  Dick  and  Diana  found 
themselves  following  Mr.  Lyon  up  the 
much  worn  staircase  into  the  large  school- 
room, and  standing  beside  him  on  a  plat- 
form raised  by  two  steps  from  the  floor. 
The  principal  set  a  chair  for  Diana  saying, 
"be  seated  ma'am,"  and  then  turned  to 
14* 


1G2  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

the  class  which  was  on  a  long  settee  hefore 
him,  and  which  he  had  been  hearing  when 
interrupted.  It  was  a  class  in  higher 
arithmetic,  and  Dick  began  to  have  mis- 
givings as  to  what  sort  of  figure  he  should 
make  in  school,  when  he  heard  the 
rapidity  with  which  questions  were  asked 
and  answered.  Meanwhile  Diana,  con- 
scious that  they  were  the  mark  for  all  eyes, 
held  down  her  head,  and  wished  Mr.  Lyon 
would  send  her  to  her  seat.  She  would 
have  liked  to  have  got  hold  of  Dick's  hand 
had  she  not  been  sure  that  it  would  annoy 
him,  and  then  she  felt  encouraged  as  she 
caught  a  glance  and  smile  from  John,  and 
another  from  Alice  Vale,  who  was  in  her 
Sunday-school  class.  In  a  few  minutes 
the  boys  and  girls  were  dismissed,  and 
returned  to  their  seats  in  a  very  still  and 
orderly  manner. 

"And  what   have   you  been  studying, 


GOING   TO    SCHOOL.  163 


ma'am  ?"  said  Mr.  Lyon,  turning  to  Diana, 
and  half  taking  away  her  breath  by  the 
swiftness;  with  which  he  spoke.  Mr. 
Lyon  addressed  all  his  girl  pupils  as 
"ma'am,"  from  the  youngest  little  trot 
in  the  primary  room,  to  the  tallest  young 
lady  in  the  graduating  class. 

"  Arithmetic  once  through,  grammar, 
history  and  Latin,  sir,"  Diana  managed 
to  say  in  a  hurried  half-whisper. 

"  Take  time — take  time,  ma'am,"  said 
Mr.  Lyon.  kindly,  for  he  was  always 
willing  to  give  time,  though  he  never 
took  it  himself;  "and  you?"  he  added, 
turning  to  Dick. 

"  The  same  as  Diana,  sir." 

"  Very  well.     What  Latin  ?" 

"The  reader,  sir,  and  Caesar;  and 
we  have  been  part  way  through  the 
exercise  book." 

"  Ah  !  indeed.    Could  you  read  Horace?" 


164  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

*-^^e £*^4^*- — 

"I  don't  know,  sir;  I  never  tried,"  said 
Dick,  who  felt  it  was  rather  a  silly  speech 
as  soon  as  the  words  were  out  of  his 
mouth,  although  he  had  not  had  the 
least  intention  of  a  joke. 

"I  think  I  shall  let  you  try.  We 
Lave  no  one  in  Csesar  at  present,  and 
your  sister  can  go  with  the  class  that 
is  just  beginning  Virgil." 

Diana  looked  rather  dismayed.  She 
had  taken  it  as  a  matter  of  course 
that  she  and  Dick  were  to  be  together. 

Mr.  Lyon  seemed  to  guess  her  thoughts, 
for  he  said,  kindly, 

"  There  are  only  large  boys  in  Horace, 
and  my  Virgil  class  is  too  large  already 
to  admit  you  both.  You  will  be  to- 
gether in  your  other  studies.  Do  you 
know  any  one  here,  ma'am  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir.  We  know  John  Graham 
and  Alice  Vale." 


GOING    TO    SCHOOL.  165 

"  Miss  Vale  has  a  vacant  seat  beside 
her;  and  Graham,  please  to  come  here 
a  moment." 

John  came,  and  looked  with  a  smile 
at  his  two  friends,  as  they  stood  shyly 
side  by  side. 

"  Do  you  care  about  keeping  your 
present  seat?"  asked  Mr.  Lyon  of  John. 

"  No,  sir,  not  much.  I'd  rather  sit 
somewhere  with  Dick." 

"  Very  well.  Smith  can  sit  back  where 
you  are,  and  you  and  Monroe  can  take 
the  two  seats,  of  which  he  has  one." 
Dick  straightened  himself,  and  held  up 
his  head.  It  gave  him  a  pleasantly  old 
sensation  to  be  called  "  Monroe."  "  I 
will  show  you  your  seat,  ma'am,"  con- 
tinued Mr.  Lyon;  and,  with  great  po- 
liteness, he  led  Diana  down  the  aisle, 
and  placed  her  next  to  Alice,  who 
received  her  with  a  smile  and  a  kiss. 


166  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

"He's  nice,  if  he  is  queer,"  thought 
Diana.  "It  was  kind  in  him  to  put 
us  next  to  people  we  know." 

Ordinarily,  Mr.  Lyon  would  not  have 
taken  so  much  trouble,  but  he  under- 
stood the  shyness  which  the  two  home- 
bred children  must  feel  among  so  many- 
strangers.  The  change  of  John's  seat 
was  soon  made,  and  the  business  of  the 
schoolroom  went  on. 

"  Did  you  ever  keep  up  with  a  thrash- 
ing machine  ?"  asked  the  boy  directly 
behind  Dick,  as  Mr.  Lyon  sped  back  to 
the  platform. 

"  No  sir,"  said  Dick,  bewildered. 

"  Then  you've  got  to  now,  that's  all." 

The  oracular  youth  spake  no  more,  but 
Dick  pondered  over  his  words  that  morning 
in  the  interval  between  his  grammar  lesson 
and  the  third  one,  to  which  he  gave  more 
study  than  he  had  ever  given  to  any  lesson. 


GOING   TO   SCHOOL.  167 

The  Horace  class  was  the  last  in  the 
morning  session,  and  before  it  came  he 
and  Diana  went  up  to  the  recitation  room 
on  the  next  floor  to  recite  to  Mr.  Mclntyre, 
the  assistant.  John  and  Alice  went  with 
them. 

"  Is  Mr.  Mclntyre  a  school  teacher  ?" 
asked  Diana  of  John  as  they  went  up 
stairs. 

"  He  ain't  anything  else,"  said  John 
promptly,  and  when  Diana  found  herself 
seated  in  front  of  Mr.  Mclntyre  she  felt 
that  John  was  right. 

Mr.  Mclntyre  was  a  sort  of  teaching 
machine,  and  if  he  had  only  had  machines 
to  teach  it  would  have  been  all  right.  He 
took  a  world  of  pains  to  make  his  pupils 
understand  their  lessons ;  he  never  scolded 
and  never  praised.  He  never  seemed  to 
care  for  his  scholars  as  boys  and  girls,  but 
simply  as  so  many  live  creatures  sent  to 


168  TUE    ICE    BAFT. 

him  to  have  so  many  dollars  worth  of 
facts  put,  into  them  in  the  course  of  the 
term.  As  a  matter  of  course  the  said 
boys  and  girls  either  cared  no  more  for 
him  than  if  he  had  been  a  wooden  man,  or 
regarded  him  with  actual  dislike.  When 
Mr.  Lyon  left  the  school-house  he  was 
usually  surrounded  with  as  many  of  hLs 
pupils  as  could  keep  up  with  him,  an  I 
Miss  Spencer,  of  the  primary  department, 
walked  encircled  by  a  cloud  of  infants; 
but  no  one  ever  walked  home  with  Mr. 
Mclntyre.  The  young  man  himself  sup- 
posed this  to  be  a  proof  of  his  superiority. 

"  Have  }'ou  the  lesson,  Miss  Monroe  ?" 
he  asked  of  Diana,  in  a  tone  so  cold  that 
she  fancied  she  had  offended  him  and 
could  not  think  how. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  she  answered. 

"And  you?"  he  asked  of  Dick. 

"  I  think  I  can  do  the  sums,  sir,"  replied 


GOING    TO    SCHOOL.  169 

Dick,  for  the  book  was  the  same  which  he 
had  used  at  home,  and  they  were  a  few 
pages  back  of  the  last  lesson  he  had  recited 
to  Anne. 

Now  Mr.  Mclntyre  had  a  great  con- 
tempt for  all  home  teaching,  and  he  fully 
expected  to  find  Dick  and  Diana  a  pair  of 
dunces.  I  do  not  know  how  it  was  that 
Dick  knew  what  Mr.  Mclntyre  expected, 
and  felt  a  combative  desire  to  disappoint 
him.  The  first  question  was  worked  out 
by  Alice  Vale,  who  stood  at  the  head  of 
the  class ;  the  next  by  John ;  but  the  next 
was  passed  down  till  it  came  to  Dick  who 
rose  to  go  to  the  board,  feeling  quite  confi- 
dent that  he  could  do  the  sum. 

"  If  you  are  not  sure  you  can  do  this," 
said  Mr.  Mclntyre  in  the  same  cold  tone, 
"you  had  better  not  go  up.  It  only 
wastes  time." 

"  I  am  sure,"  said  Dick,  rather  bluntly. 

15 


170  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

Diana  watched  her  brother  breathlessly, 
and  could  have  clapped  her  hands  as  the 
answer  came  right. 

John  and  Alice  looked  at  each  other, 
and  then  smiled  encouragement  to  Diana. 
Mr.  Melntyre  bade  Dick  explain  the 
operation,  which  he  was  perfectly  able  to 
do,  and  then  sent  him  back  to  his  seat 
with  the  same  coldness,  which  Dick, 
unused  to  such  a  manner,  took  as  personal 
to  himself. 

"  Miss  Monroe,"  said  Mr.  Melntyre, 
"  can  you  do  the  next  ?" 

Diana  rose,  blushing  and  trembling,  and 
went  up  to  the  board,  but  Mr.  Melntyre 
had  not  an  encouraging  tone  or  look  for 
the  nervous  little  girl  making  her  first 
essay  before  strangers.  He  had  no  inten- 
tion of  being  unkind,  but  he  was  obtuse 
and  unsympathetic. 

He  gave  her  the  question,  and  the  figures 


GOING   TO   SCHOOL.  171 

were  correct,  but  she  perplexed  herself  a 
little  on  the  explanation,  and  though  she 
made  but  one  mistake,  which  she  corrected, 
she  returned  to  her  seat  feeling  as  if  she 
had  disgraced  herself,  and  wondering  how 
she  could  have  displeased  the  teacher. 

"Whatever  did  I  do?"  said  Diana, 
almost  in  tears,  to  Alice  as  they  went 
down  stairs. 

"  Nothing,  why  ?" 

"  Because  Mr.  Mclntyre  spoke  to  me 
so." 

"  Pooh  !"  said  John,  "  never  mind,  that's 
only  his  way,  he's  always  just  so,  he 
always  acts  just  as  if  he  expected  you  to 
miss,  and  so  we're  always  bent  on  disap- 
pointing him,  and  learn  for  that  reason." 

"  He  don't  mean  anything,"  said  Alice. 
"He  is  just  so  to  every  one.  You  did 
real  well,"  and  Diana  went  back  to  her 
seat  rather  consoled. 


172  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

Then  came  the  Latin ;  Diana  trembled 
as  she  took  her  seat  at  the  bottom  of  the 
long  row  of  boys  and  girls.  She  was  the 
smallest  and  youngest  in  the  class,  and 
very  small  and  young  she  felt  as  the  rapid 
questions  and  answers  went  on,  and  the 
parsing  rattled  so  swiftly  from  the  tongues 
accustomed  to  Mr.  Lyon's  quick  ways. 

"  Have  you  read  the  lesson,  Miss 
Monroe?"  said  Mr.  Lyon  to  her,  "or 
haven't  you  had  time  ?" 

"  Only  five  lines,  sir,"  said  Diana,  in 
almost  a  whisper. 

"  Very  well,  read  and  translate.  Don't 
hurry,  ma'am,  there  is  time  enough,"  said 
Mr  Lyon  kindly,  thinking  to  himself, 
"Poor  little  thing!  How  frightened  she 
is." 

Diana  began  her  translation  in  a  trem- 
bling voice,  but  gathered  self-possession  as 
she  went  on,  and  was  encouraged  when  she 


GOING   TO    SCHOOL.  173 

stopped,  by  a  "  very  well,  ma'am ;  very 
correctly  rendered,"  and  then  came  the 
parsing  which  she  dreaded ;  but  she  some- 
way found  herself  lifted  on  and  along,  and 
going  fast  without  feeling  hurried. 

"Very  well,  ma'am;  very  good  indeed. 
I  see  you  hav^  been  well  taught,"  said 
Mr.  Lyon,  in  his  quick  voice,  as  Diana 
stopped,  rather  astonished  to  find  how 
much  more  she  knew  than  she  had 
supposed. 

Diana  wrent  back  to  her  seat  devoted  to 
the  principal.  From  that  hour  Mr.  Lyon 
had  no  more  faithful  follower  than  herself. 

The  class  in  Horace  consisted  of  a 
dozen  boys,  most  of  them  almost  young 
men,  some  of  them  quite  grown ;  but 
Dick  was  surprised  to  find  that  the 
lesson  was  much  easier  than  he  had 
expected.  He  did  not  quite  understand 
how  it  was,  or  suspect  how  much  he 

15* 


174  THE    ICE   RAFT. 

was  helped,  but  he  saw  that  Mr.  Lyon 
waited  for  him  as  he  did  not  for  his 
companions,  and  resolved  that  he  would 
lose  no  time  in  acquiring,  as  far  as 
possible,  that  readiness  and  quickness 
which  seemed  to  him  so  surprising.  On 
the  whole,  the  children  went  home  well 
pleased  with  their  first  day  in  school. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SUMMARY     JUSTICE. 

rT  WAS  not  many  days  before  Dick 
j  and  Diana  found  >  themselves  quite 
at  home  in  the  academy  ;  they  ceased 
to  feel  embarrassed  in  class,  and  found 
less  difficulty  in  keeping  themselves  in 
readiness  for  the  swift  question  and 
answer,  which,  on  review  days  especially, 
went  flying  down  the  class  like  a  tele- 
graphic message.  They  did  not  grow 
to  like  Mr.  Mclntyre  any  more  than 
at  first,  but  Dick  had  never  taken  more 
pains  in  his  life  to  prepare  his  lessons, 
for  he  was  convinced  that  his  teacher 

175 


176  THE    ICE    Pv AFT. 

Avould  have  been  pleased  had  he  turned 
out  a  failure.  I  cannot  say  whether 
such  was  really  the  case,  but  Mr.  Me- 
In tyre's  unfortunate  manner  gave  some 
warrant  for  such  an  idea.  Diana,  after 
a  while,  ceased  to  be  embarrassed  by 
his  cold  looks  and  tones ;  but  her  gfammar 
and  arithmetic,  which  she  recited  to  Mr. 
Mclntyre,  and  which  with  •  Anne  had 
been  her  favorite  studies,  rather  declined. 
On  the  contrary,  Latin  and  history,  under 
Mr.  Lyon,  went  up  several  degrees. 

The  book  on  which  the  class  was  at 
that  time  engaged  was  that  respectable  old 
volume,  "  Pinnock's  Goldsmith's  Greece," 
but  it  was  a  mere  pin  to  hold  Mr. 
Lyon's  lectures  and  illustrations,  and 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  pull  the  text- 
book to  pieces,  and  treat  its  conclusions 
with  scorn,  if  he  thought  proper.  Mr. 
Lyon's  aim  was  not  merely  to  pass  over 


SUMMARi'   JUSTICE.  177 

so  many  pages  in  a  given  time,  but  to 
make  his  pupils  see  and  feel  that  the 
part  was  real,  and  its  inhabitants  living 
people.  So  the  text-book  really  had 
very  little  to  do  with  the  recitations. 
The  story  was  illustrated  by  extracts 
from  larger  works;  by  descriptions  of 
character,  manners  and  customs,  so  full 
of  life,  and  so  vivid,  that  John  said  he 
was  sure  Mr.  Lyon  must  have  lived  in 
Athens,  and  fought  the  Spartans. 

Just  then  the  class  had  come  to  the  story 
of  the  siege  of  Syracuse,  and  the  whole 
school  was  divided  into  two  parties,  some 
sympathising  with  the  Greeks  and  some 
with  the  Sicilians ;  some  of  them  calling 
the  Athenian  commander  "an  old  fool"  in 
their  indignation,  and  others  pitying  him 
for  his  misfortunes.  The  boys  made 
models  of  the  city,  and  the  fortifications,  in 
a  sand  heap  in  the  play-ground,  and  each 


178  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

party  demonstrated  to  his  or  her  satisfac- 
tion, that  Syracuse  could  or  could  not  have 
been  taken.  At  the  end  of  the  pitiful 
story  all  the  girls  were  in  tears,  the  Syra- 
cusan  party  among  the  boys  a  little  tri- 
umphant, and  the  Athenians  "only  wish- 
ing they'd  been  there  "  to  fight  the  Sicili- 
ans and  their  Spartan  allies,  and  all 
detesting  Alcibiades,  whom  Mr.  Lyon 
seemed  to  regard  as  a  personal  enemy,  so 
severe  were  his  denunciations  and  so  hot 
his  indignation  against  one  whom  John, 
in  rather  an  Irish  manner,  described  as  "  a 
second  Benedict  Arnold." 

Dick  and  Diana,  who  had  always  lived 
with  people  who  read  books  and  talked 
about  them,  and  had  early  acquired  a 
taste  for  reading,  had  the  advantage  of 
possessing  more  general  information  than 
their  classmates,  and  could  frequently 
answer  questions  and  explain  references 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  179 

which  the  others  did  not  understand. 
Diana  being  the  youngest  in  her  class  and 
small  of  her  age,  was  looked  upon  with 
some  admiration,  and  received  credit  for 
more  than  she  deserved. 

Being  in  most  of  the  same  classes  as  the 
older  girls  she  naturally  fell  into  their 
company,  and  "  little  Di  Monroe  "  was  a 
great  favorite,  not  only  with  the  young 
ladies  but  with  the  boys.  Withal  Diana 
was  more  of  a  child  than  many  girls  of 
her  own  age,  and  rather  scandalized  Dick 
by  the  zeal  with  which  she  entered  into 
children's  pursuits,  being  quite  as  ready  to 
build  baby  houses  with  little  Nelly  Adams, 
as  she  was  to  join  Martha  Dale,  the  tallest 
and  most  dignified  girl  in  school,  in  a 
search  through  every  available  book  to 
settle  some  vexed  question  arising  from 
Virgil  or  their  history.  Dick  was  un- 
speakably mortified  one  morning  when  his 


180  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

sister  scattered  some  half-dozen  paper  dolls 
and  their  dresses  out  of  the  ^Eneid.  The 
class  smiled,  and  so  did  Mr.  Lyon,  but 
Diana  smiled  with  them  and  did  not  feel 
at  all  disturbed.  She  was  not  at  all 
ashamed  of  her  dollies,  and  saw  no  reason 
why  she  should  not  play  with  them  if  she 
liked. 

"I  do  wish,  Di,  you  wouldn't  be  so 
silly,"  said  Dick  to  her  as  soon  as  he  could 
find  her  at  recess. 

"Why?"  asked  Diana. 

"Playing  with  paper  dolls  just  like  a 
little  girl." 

"  Well,  I  am  a  little  girl,"  said  Diana. 

"  Nonsense !  you  know  what  I  mean. 
All  the  boys  are  laughing  at  you!" 

"  Are  they  ?"  said  Diana  a  little  troubled. 

"0,  Diana,"  said  Harvey  Grey,  aged 
eighteen,  and  the  tallest  boy  in  school; 
"  I  say,  Mr.  Lyon  wants  us  to  find  out  all 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  181 


we  can  about  Ephesus,  and  Diana — there, 
your  namesake." 

"  She  wasn't,"  said  Diana,  laughing ;  "  I 
was  named  for  my  aunt.  I  don't  like 
Diana,  the  goddess,  a  bit.  I  think  she 
was  real  hateful  and  cross;  but  what 
about  Ephesus  ?" 

"  I  wish  you'd  coach  us  a  little.  You'll 
be  sure  to  know  more  about  it  than  any 
one  else,  or  tell  us  some  book  we  can  find 
it  in.  There's  hardly  anything  in  Lem- 
priere." 

"Yes,  do  come,  Diana,"  said  Ida  Hart, 
a  large,  sleepy,  blonde  young  woman  of 
sixteen.  "  Dear !  I  wish  I  knew  as  much 
as  you  do." 

"O  my  !"  cried  Dinna,  "I  don't  know 
anything  but  what  Anne's  told  me,  and  we 
read  about  Ephesus  last  Sunday,  in  a  big 
life  of  St.  Paul  that  used  to  be  father's. 
I'll  tell  you  all  I  can  recollect,  but  I  dare 

16 


182  THE    ICE    RAFT. 


say  Dick  knows  more  than  I  do  about  it," 
added  Diana,  who  felt  rather  than  saw 
that  Dick  was  a  little  put  out. 

"  I'm  going  to  play  ball,"  said  Dick 
shortly,  turning  away,  as  Diana  wns  carried 
off  in  the  other  direction  to  the  library, 
where  the  best  girls  and  boys  of  the  class 
were  "hunting"  the  given  subject. 

"  Diana  gets  real  conceited,"  thought 
Dick  to  himself,  as  he  walked  away.  He 
could  not  help  feeling  rather  vexed  to  find 
that  his  little  sister  was  more  popular 
than  himself.  There  might  indeed  have 
been  some  danger  of  Diana's  growing  con- 
ceited, but  that  she  compared  herself  not 
with  her  companions,  but  with  Anne  and 
Will.  She  was  pleased  to  find  herself 
liked  and  petted,  and  responded  to  it  all 
with  frank  cordiality.  Dick's  little  pet 
wore  off  before  recess  was  over,  and  the 
praise  which  Mr.  Lyon  bestowed  on  him 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  183 

in  class,  healed  the  little  pain  in  his 
temper  which  Harvey  had  occasioned. 
Friday  morning,  when  the  whole  school 
was  exercised  on  geography  and  spelling, 
he  answered  two  questions  which  Diana 
missed,  and  was  in  a  very  good  humor. 
But  unfortunately  the  afternoon  renewed 
his  vexation.  Friday  afternoon  was  a  sort 
of  festival  in  the  schuol,  as  the  period  of 
what  were  called  literary  exercises ;  that  is 
to  say,  the  girls  read  such  selections  as  they 
had  chosen,  the  boys  spoke  "pieces"  and 
dialogues,  and  then  the  principal  read 
aloud  those  compositions  which  he  thought 
most  worthy  the  honor,  always  putting 
the  best  last.  The  compositions  were  read 
only  every  other  Friday,  as  on  the  alter- 
nate ones  the  paper  supported  by  the 
school  was  read  aloud  by  the  editor. 
Both  Dick  and  Diana  had  hud  articles  in 
the  "  Galaxy/'  as  the  paper  was  called,  but 


184  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

~*r-f<yr^  £l*>*-^— 

neither  had  yet  attained  to  the  distinction 
of  composition  day;  for  there  were  about 
a  hundred  papers  a  week,  and  Mr.  Lyon 
never  chose  more  than  a  dozen  to  read. 

Diana  had  thought  this  honor  as  much 
out  of  her  reach  as  the  stars,  but  Dick's 
ambition  was  roused,  and  he  took  a  world 
of  pains  with  his  compositions.  Unhappily 
the  more  pains  he  took  the  more  he  ran 
into  fine  writing,  which  Mr.  Lyon  detested, 
and  his  papers  were  returned  to  him  with 
the  adjectives  ruthlessly  crossed  out  and 
the  figures  of  speech  cancelled.  This 
week  he  had  written  an  ambitious  essay 
on  "  Passing  Away."  Mr.  Lyon,  who  read 
about  fifty-two  themes  a  year  on  the  same 
subject,  marked  Dick's  with  numerous  cor- 
rections and  returned  it.  Diana,  who  had 
been  greatly  interested  in  the  Syracusan 
siege,  and,  like  the  rest  of  her  class,  had 
made  notes  of  Mr.  Lyon's  lectures,  wrote  a 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  185 

story  about  a  child  who  had  strayed 
beyond  the  city  walls,  and  into  the  camp 
of  the  enemy.  The  little  story  was  simply 
told  and  childish  enough,  but  still  there 
was  a  certain  freshness  and  life  about  it 
that  pleased  Mr.  Lyon.  No  one  could 
have  been  more  astonished  than  Diana 
when  she  heard  the  first  sentence  of  her 
own  composition,  and  when  "  Diana 
Monroe"  was  read  at  the  end,  she  threw  a 
quick  glance  across  to  Dick,  expecting  a 
look  in  return.  But  Dick  was  gazing  out 
of  the  window,  and  seemed  not  to  have 
heard  or  cared.  It  was  Martha  Dale, 
Harvey,  John  and  Alice  who  congratu- 
lated her  after  school,  but  Dick  did  not 
say  a  word  till  they  were  driving  home 
with  Simeon.  Then  he  did  have  the  grace 
to  feel  ashamed,  and  to  tell  Diana  that  he 
thought  her  story  was  very  good,  and  that 
lie  was  glad  Mr.  Lyon  read  it,  but  he  did 

16* 


186  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

not  quite  recover  from  his  little  vexation 
by  Monday  morning,  for  Mr.  Lyon's  pencil 
had  made  very  black  and  frequent  marks 
on  "  Passing  Away,"  and  it  was  not  possi- 
ble but  that  the  author  should  be  provoked. 
Then  John's  composition  had  been  read 
too,  though  Mr.  Lyon  prefaced  it  "with  the 
remark,  that  he  read  it  not  so  much  for 
the  style  as  because  it  was  short,  and 
because  he  wished  that  the  author  and  the 
whole  school  would  act  according  to  the 
concluding  sentiment.  John  had  no  talent 
for  composition  whatever,  and  after  beat- 
ing his  brain  in  vain  for  a  subject,  he  had 
gone  to  Mr.  Leslie,  who  had  suggested 
"  Things  to  be  Done,"  upon  which  John 
had  written  as  follows  : — 

"  I  am  going  to  write  about  things  to  be 
done.  There  are  a  great  many  things  to 
be  done,  some  people  have  one  thing  to  do 
and  some  another.  Some  men  have  pig.s 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  187 

to  drive,  it  is  very  hard  to  drive  pigs,  pigs 
always  want  to  go  the  other  way.  They 
go  into  peoples  gates  that  they  dont  belong 
to.  Some  scholars  act  very  much  like 
pigs. 

"  Some  people  have  bridges  to  build,  and 
sometimes  rivers  carry  them  off.  Some 
people  have  books  to  write,  others  have  to 
take  care  of  babies.  Some  people  work  on 
a  farm,  and  some  people  are  in  the  army. 
Some  things  are  very  hard  to  do.  If  a 
person  has  got  a  hard  thing  to  do,  the  best 
way  is  to  find  out  the  best  way  to  do  it, 
and  then  go  at  it  and  stick  to  it.  This  is 
all  I  have  got  to  say  about  things  to  do." 

John  joined  in  the  little  laugh  which 
this  essay  raised  in  the  school-room,  and 
thou.uht  no  more  about  it,  his  head  being 
just  then  more  full  of  a  game  of  base-ball, 
which  was  to  be  played  on  Saturday,  than 
of  his  studies. 


188  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

Now,  whether  it  was  this  game  or 
whether  it  was  something  in  the  air,  it  is 
certain  that  the  school  on  Monday  morning 
was  more  "out  of  gear"  than  it  had  been 
for  a  long  time.  Many  pupils  were  late, 
especially  the  older  boys  who  belonged  to 
the  ball-club,  and  the  lessons  undeniably 
dragged.  Mr.  Mclntyre  up  stairs  grew 
colder  and  more  impassive;  and  Mr. 
Lyon  down  stairs  grew  quicker  and 
quicker,  and  Harvey  Grey  shook  his  head 
and  warned  his  classmates  that  "  the 
principal  was  getting  up  steam,  and  they'd 
better  look  out."  Mr.  Lyon  and  Mr. 
Mclntyre  were  quite  able  to  fight  their 
own  battles,  but  Miss  Allen,  who  heard 
some  of  the  junior  classes,  was  not.  She 
was  a  pretty,  delicate  young  lady  of  nine- 
teen, who  had  been  a  pupil  only  two 
years  before.  She  was  most  anxious  to 
do  the  best  that  could  be  done.,  and  her 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  189 

very  anxiety  stood  in  her  way,  for  she 
allowed  her  pupils  to  worry  her  and  make 
her  nervous. 

Some  of  her  scholars  found  a  malicious 
pleasure  in  distressing  the  sensitive  girl. 
The  principal  always  took  her  part  in  an 
energetic  manner  if  he  saw  cause,  but  he 
could  not  be  present  at  her  classes,  and  if 
she  were  annoyed  Miss  Allen  never  com- 
plained. Dick  admired  the  junior  teacher 
greatly,  and  though  he  was  in  none  of  her 
classes,  he  took  great  pains  to  be  polite 
and  respectful  to  her.  He  could  not  help 
seeing  her  trials  with  some  of  her  pupils, 
and  they  reminded  him  very  uncomforta- 
bly of  his  treatment  of  Anne,  during  that 
fit  of  perversity  which  he  now  remembered 
with  shame. 

"  Dear  me !"  he  said  to  himself,  "  I 
wonder  if  I  did  look  as  silly  and  mean  as 
these  children  do?" 


190  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

This  Monday  morning  it  seemed  as  if 
the  "imp  of  the  perverse"  had  possessed 
Miss  Allen's  geography  classes.  They  did 
not  set  her  at  open  defiance,  for  the  disci- 
pline of  the  school  was  too  well  under- 
stood, but  they  came  as  near  to  it  as  they 
dared.  They  missed  questions  which  they 
knew  perfectly  well;  they  exchanged 
significant  and  contemptuous  glances; 
they  made  noises  with  their  feet;  they 
dropped  their  books.  It  was  but  a  few 
unruly  spirits  that  engaged  in  this  revolt, 
but  the  indignant  glances  of  the  better 
minded  members  of  the  class  only  made 
them  more  provoking. 

Finally  Matthew  Wells,  an  over-grown 
backward  boy  of  fifteen,  one  of  the 
greatest  dunces  in  the  school,  on  being  told 
to  go  to  the  map,  said,  insolently  enough, 
he  "  didn't  want  to." 

"  That's   not   the   question,"  said    Miss 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  191 

Allen,  trying  hard  to  control  herself;  "go 
to  the  map  directly." 

"  laint  a  cjoin  to,"  said  the  boy  roughly. 

Even  those  who  had  been  doing  their 
best  to  torment  their  teacher  looked  at 
each  other  in  some  alarm  at  this  speech. 
Such  words  had  never  been  heard  from 
one  of  Mr.  Lyon's  scholars  before.  Mat- 
thew, however,  was  new  to  the  way  of  the 
academy.  He  had  been  the  tyrant  of  a 
country  school,  and  did  not  understand  his 
present  situation. 

Poor  Miss  Allen !  She  had  watched 
the  night  before  with  a  sick  child,  and 
the  want  of  sleep  had  increased  her 
usual  nervousness.  She  was  silent  a 
moment,  in  a  vain  effort  to  preserve  her 
composure,  and  then  burst  into  a  fit 
of  sobbing,  the  very  .worst  thing  she 
could  have  done  under  the  circumstances. 
Little  Nelly  Adams,  the  youngest 


192  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

child,  up-stairs,  had  watched  the  morn- 
ing's work  with  ever  increasing  indig- 
nation, which  now  boiled  over.  She 
loved  Miss  Allen  dearly,  and  reckless 
of  anything  but  her  distress,  she  sprang 
to  the  door  of  the  class-room,  and  called 
out  in  her  high,  childish  lisp, 

"  Misther  Lyon  !  Misther  Lyon  !  pleath 
come  here  and  thee  how  the  naughty 
boyth  is  abuthing  my  Mith  Allen!" 

A  laugh  ran  through  the  schoolroom, 
but  Mr.  Lyon  darted  -from  the  plat- 
form, and  into  the  recitation  room.  A 
sudden  silence  fell  upon  the  class,  but 
poor  Miss  Allen  could  not  so  soon  control 
the  hysterical  sobs  which  shook  her  from 
head  to  foot. 

"  What's  the  matter,  rna'am  ?"  asked 
the  principal. 

"  I  am  very  silly,"  said  Miss  Allen, 
in  quivering  accents. 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  193 

"What  is  it,  Miss  Nelly?"  asked  Mr. 
Lyon,  of  the  little  girl,  who  answered 
Matthew's  threatening  gesture  with  a 
glance  of  defiance. 

"  Pleathe,  thir,"  lisped  Nelly,  "  he  thaid 
'  I  won't/  when  he  wath  thent  to  the 
map,  and  he  and  thorae  of  them  hath 
been  behaving  thsharneful  all  the  morn- 
ing, and  I  think  ith  mean." 

"Did  Wells  say  <I  won't'  to  you, 
ma'am?"  asked  Mr.  Lyon,  with  bright- 
ening eyes. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Miss  Allen. 

"Ask  Miss  Allen's  pardon  instantly," 
said  Mr.  Lyon,  in  tones  that  rang  like 
steel  on  steel. 

"I'm  not  goin'  to  for  you,"  retorted 
Matthews,  rather  alarmed,  but  endeavor- 
ing to  face  the  matter  out. 

Mr.  Lyon  flew  at  him,  literally  seem- 
ing to  fly,  and  shook  him  much  as  a 


194  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

terrier  shakes  a  rat.  Matthews  was 
quite  as  tall  and  large  as  the  principal,  but 
the  sudden  swiftness  of  the  attack  crushed 
his  powers  of  resistance. 

"  Will  you  ask  Miss  Allen's  pardon 
now  ?"  said  the  principal,  with  his  hand 
on  Matthew's  shoulder. 

"  Yes  'ir,"  said  the  boy,  in  a  breathless 
whisper,  and  not  quite  sure  whether  he 
stood  on  his  head  or  his  feet. 

"  Do  it  then." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Miss  Allen,"  said 
Matthews. 

"Very  well,"  said  Mr.  Lyon,  retain- 
ing his  hold  of  the  offender.  "Is  there 
any  one  else  who  won't  go  to  the  map  ?" 

But  the  class  was  mute  as  so  many 
mice. 

"  You  had  better  go  home  and  rest, 
ma'am,"  said  Mr.  Lyon  to  Miss  Allen, 
who,  in  the  tenderness  of  her  heart, 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  195 

would  have  interceded  for  Matthew. 
"  You  are  tired  out.  Miss  Dale  shall 
hear  your  classes,  and  you  need  not 
come  this  afternoon.  Good-morning, 
ma'am,"  and  he  opened  the  door  and 
bowed  the  weeping  teacher  out.  "  Miss 
Nelly,  please  ask  Miss  Dale  to  come 
here.  You  have  done  perfectly  right, 
and  I  thank  you,  ma'am.  Miss  Dale," 
he  continued,  as  Martha  entered,  "will 
you  oblige  me  by  hearing  Miss  Allen's 
classes  to  day.  If  you  meet  with  the 
least  trouble,  please  to  tell  me  directly. 
Wells,  do  you  come  down  into  the  library 
with  me." 

What  came  to  pass  in  the  library  no 
one  knew,  but  Matthew  presently  reap- 
peared with  a  very  red  face,  and  pointed 
out  all  the  places  on  the  map  to  Martha 
with  great  meekness. 

Now    I   am    aware    that    according   to 


196  THE    ICE   RAFT. 

late  discoveries  all  the  finer  feelings  of 
Matthew's  mind  ought  -to  have  been 
crushed,  and  that,  going  to  ruin  in.  after 
life,  he  should  have  dated  the  beginning 
of  his  downward  course  from  the  time 
when  physical  force  instead  of  moral 
suasion  was  employed  in  his  case.  But 
the  fact  is,  that  the  sense  of  having 
found  his  master,  had  a  great  effect  in 
developing  finer  feelings  in  Matthew's 
mind  than  any  one  had  supposed  him 
to  possess,  and  certainly  much  better 
manners.  So,  far  from  cherishing  a 
secret  and  bitter  dislike  for  the  tyrant, 
who  had  mastered  him  by  brute  force, 
Matthews  conceived  a  respect  for  his 
teacher,  such  as  he  had  never  felt  for 
any  one,  and  which  did  him  a  world 
of  good. 

"  We    haven't    had    such    a    row    on 
the   premises,"  said    Harvey,  in   recess — 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  197 

"not  since  Osborne  Briggs  was  here. 
But  wasn't  it  a  spirited  thing  in  little 
Nelly  ?  What  a  little  brick  she  is  !" 

"  Somebody  must  look  out,  to  see  that 
Wells  don't  pay  her  off  in  some  way 
for  telling,"  said  John. 

"He  won't  if  I'm  round,"  said  Dick; 
"  but  what  about  Osborne  Briggs  ?" 

"  0  !  never  mind  that  old  story  now," 
said  John. 

"  Why,  you  see,"  said  Harvey,  "  Os- 
borne used  to  bully  the  little  boys; 
and,  one  day,  he  was  teasing  Sammy 
Brent— 

"What!  That  little  lame  fellow? 
How  mean  !" 

"Wasn't  it?  and  John  told  him  to 
quit,  and  he  wouldn't;  and  then  John 
put  Sam  behind  him,  and  told  Osborne 
he  shouldn't  touch  him,  and  Osborne 
struck  John,  so  then  they  got  into  a 

17* 


198  THE    ICE   RAFT. 

regular  fight,  and  some  of  the  girls  -were 
scared,  and  called  Mr.  Lyon ;  bat  before 
he  came  John  had  given  Osborne  a 
most  an  awful  thrashing,  because  he 
got  very  mad.  Didn't  you,  John  ?" 

"  I  don't  remember  much  about  it," 
said  John,  coloring.  "  I  know  I  got  a 
black  eye." 

"  And  when  Mr.  Lyon  came  he  stopped 
it  mighty  quick,  because  he's  down  on 
fighting;  and,  if  it  had  been  for  any 
other  reason,  they'd  have  both  caught 
it,  but  when  he  heard  the  story,  he 
said  John  had  done  just  right,  and 
made  Osborne  beg  little  Sam's  pardon, 
and  Osborne  said  the  big  boys  always 
did  such  things  in  English  schools,  and 
Mr.  Lyon  said  he  should  suppose  from 
what  he  seen  that  prize  fighter's  manners 
and  customs  must  prevail,  at  least,  in 
some  institutions,  but  that  this  was  an 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  199 

academy  for  gentlemen,  and  he  begged 
him  to  remember  it  in  future.  That 
for  the  present  he  had  got  as  much  as 
he  deserved,  but  that  if  he  ever  knew 
of  his  abusing  the  little  ones  again  he'd 
have  to  answer  to  him.  You  see,  Mr. 
Lyon  had  spoken  to  him  about  it  once 
before,  and  borne  with  him  more  than 
he  would  with  one  of  us,  because  he 
was  such  an  untaught  sort  of  a  cub. 
After  that  he  was  mighty  careful  what 
he  did  in  school,  but  do  you  believe, 
he  lay  in  wait  for  little  Sam  one  night, 
and  ran  away  with  his  crutches,  so  the 
poor  child  couldn't  stir  a  step." 

"  How  mean  !  How  shameful !"  cried 
one  and  another. 

"  Wasn't  it !  And  you  know  he  lives  at 
that  little  house  way  down  -the  river, 
such  a  lonely  road,  hardly  any  one  passes 
there.  And  the  poor  little  fellow  sat 


200  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

crying  there  two  hours  in  the  rain  before 
any  one  found  him  and  took  him  home  to 
his  mother;  and  she  a  poor  widow  too. 
Well,  Sam  was  sick  for  two  weeks  after 
it,  but  the  next  morning  after  it  hap- 
pened Mrs.  Brent  came  down  in  a 
great  passion,  as  well  she  might  be,  and 
told  Mr.  Lyon  the  whole  story.  Mr.  Lyon 
called  him  up  and  dismissed  him  from  the 
school,  for  he  said  he  wouldn't  have  such 
a  boy  among  his  other  pupils,  so  Osborne 
left  suddenly  and  no  one  cried  about  it. 
He'd  had  shame  enough,  and  he'd  done 
other  things  before." 

"  So,"  thought  Dick  to  himself,  "  no 
wonder  he  keeps  out  of  John's  way. 
O,  what  an  uncommon  fool  I  have 
been !" 

"  I  told  Matthew  he'd  catch  it,  if  he 
didn't  mind  himself,"  said  John.  "  He 
thought  all  that  was  smart.  If  I 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  201 

wouldn't  be  ashamed  to  tease  a  poor  little 
thing  like  Bell  Allen  !" 

"  He  told  a  long  story  the  other  day," 
said  Dick,  "  about  how  he  used  to  act 
with  the  teacher  when  he  went  to  the 
district  school." 

"Yes,"  said  John,  "and  I  told  him 
he  talked  very  much  like  the  man  in  the 


"  '  Father  and  Tom  and  I, 
And  two  or  three  neighbors  more, 
Whipped  an  old  woman  stone  blind, 
That  couldn't  see  much  before.'  " 

"  I  thought  if  he  tried  on  that  game  with 
Mr.  Lyon  he'd  see  sights,"  said  Dick. 
"  But  does  he  often  tly  out  like  that  ?" 

"  No,  very  seldom  ;  but  when  he  does 
fly  out,  it's  best  riot  to  stand  in  the 
way." 

"  There  goes  the.  bell.    I  say,  Dick,  have 


202  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

you  got  your  Horace.  I'm  not  a  bit  sure 
about  mine,"  said  Harvey. 

"  No  more  am  I ;  I  didn't  look  up  the 
allusions  as  he  told  us,"  said  Dick,  in 
some  alarm,  as  he  remembered  how  he 
had  gone  fishing  Saturday  afternoon,  and 
had  "  forgotten "  in  the  evening.  The 
older  boys  had  been  at  the  ball  play 
and  of  course  had  not  given  the  usual 
time  to  their  lessons,  having  merely 
translated  the  ode,  and  trusted  to  luck  for 
the  prosody,  parsing,  and  those  "  allusions  " 
about  which  they  we're  sure  to  be  ques- 
tioned. Dick  was  besieged  for  informa- 
tion as  they  hurried  into  school,  but  he 
had  not  much  to  give. 

"Do  tell  me  who  the  Centaurs  were," 
said  John  Burke.  "I  know,  but  I've 
forgotten." 

"  Folks  with  horses'  heads,"  said  Dick, 
making  a  slight  mistake  in  his  hurry. 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  203 

"And  the  JtipithaB?  Dear  me,  I  wish 
they  were  all  in  Guinea !  Who  were  they, 
Dick?" 

"Mercy  knows;  I  don't  now,  if  ever  I 
did." 

"And,  whatever  were  the  'things  con- 
cealed under  different  leaves/  and  what 
did  they  do  it  for?"  asked  Isaac  Le  Blanc. 

"  I  don't  know,  I'm  sure ;  I  wish  to 
goodness  they'd  staid  concealed,"  said 
Dick,  as  he  entered  the  schoolroom,  and 
cast  a  longing  glance  at  the  classical 
dictionary,  which  it  was  now  too  late  to 
consult. 

Nobody  knew  who  Catilus  was,  and  the 
first  four  lines  were  rather  blundered,  but 
Mr.  Lyon  remembered  the  ball  play  and 
kept  his  patience,  and  only  passed  the 
lesson  on  when  Ellery  Vane  translated 
"  poverty  "  into  "  a  pauper,"  and  rendered 
"  hard  service  "  by  "  a  heavy  militia  man." 


204  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

The  question  who  were  the  Centaurs 
came  to  John  Burke,  and  he  answered 
with  promptness,  "  people  with  horses' 
heads." 

l(  Really,"  said  Mr.  Lyon,  "  you  have 
made  a  discovery." 

Dick  held  his  book  before  his  face  to 
hide  his  laugh,  and  then  was  struck  with 
dismay  as  he  remembered  that  he  had 
indeed  answered  John's  question  with 
those  words. 

"  It  was  I  told  him  so,  Mr.  Lyon,"   he    / 
said ;  "  I  know  it's  wrong  end  first,  now, 
but  I  was  in  such  a  hurry  when  he  asked 
me." 

"  Very  well,  it's  not  Burke's  miss  then," 
said  Mr.  Lyon,  pleased  with  Dick's  honesty 
in  the  matter;  "go  on,  Grey." 

But  Harvey  for  once  made  a  terrible 
mess  of  his  translation,  and  though  Dick 
who  followed  him  did  rather  better,  he 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  205 

knew  none  of  the  allusions.  The  memory 
of  the  class  seemed  to  have  undergone 
paralysis,  for  not  a  soul  could  tell  anything 
about  the  different  names  of  Bacchus,  and 
the  "things  concealed  under  different 
leaves"  remained  concealed  as  far  as  the 
class  was  concerned.  As  for  the  scan- 
ning it  \vas  nowhere ;  in  short,  nobody 
knew  anything.  Hoping  that  they  would, 
do  better  on  the  review,  and  longing  for  a 
good  recitation,  Mr.  Lyon  turned  back  a 
few  pages,  and  questioned  them  on  a 
lesson  they  had  been  over,  but  all  in  vain. 
That  unfortunate  Monday  morning,  some 
bird  of  the  air  seemed  to  have  carried 
away  every  seed  of  knowledge  ever  sown 
in  the  Horace  class.  Mr.  Lyon  bent  his 
brows,  but  he  found  no  fault  in  words 
until  the  question  came  up,  "what  was  an 
augur?"  Not  a  boy  in  the  class  but  had 
been  told  or  knew,  but  for  some  reason  not 

13 


206  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

a  boy  in  the  class  could  think ;  or,  if  he 
thought,  could  say. 

"Bother!"  thought  Dick.  "I  know  as 
well  as  I  know  my  own  name,  but  I  can't 
get  hold  of  it." 

"  Surely  you  must  know,"  said  Mr. 
Lyon.  "  John  Burke,  what  was  an  augur  ?" 

"  It's  a  thing  you  make  big  holes  with, 
sir,"  said  John,  confidently. 

Mr.  Lyon  shut  up  his  book  sharply. 
"  This  is  disgraceful !"  he  said.  "  It  is 
perfectly  disgraceful !"  and  then  he  rose  to 
his  feet,  and  with  a  voice  like  a  cymbal, 
called  aloud,  "  Miss  Monroe !  Miss  Diana 
Monroe !"  Diana  started  up,  wondering 
what  she  had  done,  while  the  whole  school 
suspended  work  and  waited  to  see  what 
would  come  next. 

"  Have  the  goodness  to  come  here,  Mi?s 
Monroe,"  and  Mr.  Lyon  led  her  up  on  the 
platform  with  great  politeness,  and  to  her 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  207 

amazement  seated  her  in  the  big  chair  by 
his  side. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  how  very  small 
Diana  looked  in  this  situation.  Her  feet 
hardly  touched  the  floor,  and  she  held 
down  her  head  till  her  long  black  curls 
falling  forward  almost  hid  her  blushing 
face.  She  knew  that  every  one  was  look- 
ing at  her,  and  she  wondered  what  in  the 
world  Mr.  Lyon  meant  by  sitting  her  up 
on  the  platform  in  Mr.  McTn tyre's  chair. 

"  Will  you  have  the  goodness,  ma'am," 
said  Mr.  Lyon,  "  to  tell  these  young  gen- 
tlemen what  an  augur  was  ?" 

Diana  wished  with  all  her  heart  that 
she  could  have  said,  "  I  don't  know,  sir," 
and  wondered  how  Dick  could  have  for- 
gotten what  he  knew  perfectly  well,  and 
what  Mr.  Lyon  had  told  them  in  the 
history  class.  In  a  very  low  voice  she 
answered  the  question,  and  in  a  few  words 


208  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

as  possible ;  but  as  it  happened  Mr.  Lyon's 
talk  was  fresh  in  her  mind.  She  had  been 
reading  "Probus"  only  the  day  before, 
and  such  ideas  as  came  to  her  out  of 
stories  she  was  not  apt  to  forget,  and  she 
could  not  but  answer  all  Mr.  Lyon's 
questions.  The  class  looked  on,  half 
wondering,  half  admiring,  and  half  in  a 
state  of  suppressed  giggle,  to  see  so  small  a 
child  acting  as  professor  to  a  class  of  big 
boys. 

"  Thank  you,  ma'am,"  said  Mr.  Lyon,  as 
Diana  answered,  and  turning  back  to  the 
lesson,  he  added,  "  Perhaps  you  can  ex- 
plain this  allusion.  What  does  this  con- 
cealed under  various  leaves  refer  to,"  and 
he  translated  the  whole  passage  for  her 
benefit.  Now  Diana  did  understand  the 
reference,  but  as  may  be  supposed  she 
owed  her  knowledge  to  no  study  of  the 
subject,  but  simply  to  having  read  in  an 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  209 

old  "Token"  a  story  called  "The  Golden 
Basket  Bearer." 

"  Please,  Mr.  Lyon,"  said  Diana,  implor- 
ingly, "  I  only  read  it  in  a  story." 

"  Well,  let  us  know  what  you  read  in 
the  story,  ma'am,"  said  Mr.  Lyon,  who  felt 
that  his  rash  experiment  might  easily 
have  been  a  failure,  and  was  grateful  to 
Diana  for  carrying  it  through. 

Thus  exhorted,  Diana  managed  to  say 
that  the  mysterious  things  in  question  were 
the  sacred  symbols  of  the  god,  which 
were  carried  in  the  procession  in  baskets 
covered  with  ivy  and  vine  leaves. 

"  Thank  you,  ma'am ;  thank  you,"  said 
Mr.  Lyon,  and  he  at  length  released 
Diana,  who  went  back  to  her  seat  with  a 
crimson  face,  and  put  her  head  down  on 
her  desk,  not  knowing  whether  to  laugh 
or  cry. 

"  There,"  said  Mr.  Lyon,  emphatically, 

18* 


210  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

to  the  class ;  "  I  wish  you  had  all  im- 
proved your  time  as  well  as  Miss  Monroe 
— at  her  age,  too." 

"  Please,  sir,"  said  John,  very  mildly, 
"  Miss  Monroe  's  never  been  to  school." 

Mr.  Lyon  looked  sharply  at  John, 
who  kept  a  very  sober  face,  though  he 
had  a  certain  twinkle  in  his  eye. 

Both  teacher  and  class  broke  into  a 
laugh. 

"Go  back  to  your  seats,"  said  Mr. 
Lyon.  "  We  will  take  this  lesson  over 
to-morrow ;  and,  boys,  I  hope  there  is 
no  ball  play  this  afternoon?" 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Harvey ;  "  and,  if 
there  is,  we'll  tend  to  the  lesson  first;" 
and  the  recitation,  which  had  begun 
so  ominously,  ended  in  renewed  good- 
humor. 

The  boys  were  a  set  of  good  fellows, 
and  bore  no  ill-will  or  jealousy  to  Diana 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  211 

on  account  of  this  scene.  But,  when 
school  was  dismissed,  "Miss  Monroe" 
was  discovered  in  tears. 

''  0,  great  Artemis !  what  is  the  mat- 
ter?" said  Harvey. 

"  I'm  so  sorry !"  sobbed  "  the  infant 
phenomenon,"  as  she  was  sometimes 
called.  "  I  wouldn't  have  known  it 
if  I  could  help  it.  I  felt  so  ashamed." 

"Pooh!"  said  John.  "It  is  we  who 
ought  to  be  ashamed.  Don't  you  cry, 
Di.  I'm  sure  nobody  feels  a  bit  put 
out  at  you.  We  ain't  so  small  as  that." 

"No,  indeed,"  said  John  Burke.  "I 
wish  I'd  come  to  you  before  the  class — 
but,  oh  !  you  did  look  so  small  on  the 
platform,  with  your  little  feet  just  touch- 
ing the  floor,  and  your  curls  all  over 
your  eyes." 

"I  only  knew  it  because  I'd  read  it 
in  a  story,"  said  Diana,  wiping  away 


212  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

her  tears,  a  little  consoled;  c'but  I'll 
never  read  anything  again,  if  it  ends 
in  my  being  poked  up  in  Mr.  Mcln  tyre's 
big  chair  to  talk  to  the  big  boys." 

"  "Well,  you  are  better  natured  than 
your  namesake,  any  way,"  said  Harvey ; 
t(  and,  as  for  your  being  in  Mr.  Mclntyre's 
place,  I'd  a  sight  rather  recite  to  you 
than  to  him.  What  a  jolly  little  pro- 
fessor you'd  make !" 

"  But  what  a  mess  we  made  of  it," 
said  John.  "  I  say,  Burke,  how's  the 
heavy  militia  man  ?" 

"  That's  not  so  bad  as  a  boy  in  Darton 
College,"  said  Diana.  "  He  translated 
i  Eegina  e  speculis,'  '  the  queen  through 
her  spectacles.' " 

"  Well,  I  knew  what  an  augur  was 
perfectly  well,"  said  Harvey,  "  only  I 
seemed  to  forget  everything  I'd  ever 
heard  of  this  morning.  I  don't  believe 


SUMMARY    JUSTICE.  213 

I  could  have  said  my  ABC;  but  how 
did  it  happen  you  couldn't  answer  the 
questions  better  ?"  said  Harvey  to  Dick, 
who  came  up  just  then. 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  said  Dick, 
rather  crossly.  "  Diana,  the  carriage  is 
waiting." 

Diana  knew  in  a  moment  that  Dick 
was  vexed  with  her,  and  her  heart  sank. 
She  put  on  her  bonnet  and  cloak  in 
silence,  and  went  out  to  the  carriage. 
Dick  never  spoke  a  word  to  her  till  they 
had  crossed  the  covered  bridge,  then 
he  said, 

"  I  suppose  you  feel  very  grand  about 
what  happened  this  morning." 

"  Grand  !  0,  Dick,  I  felt  so  ashamed  ! 
But  how  was  it  you  couldn't  tell  when 
Mr.  Lyou  asked  you?" 

"  I  am  sure  I  don't  know,"  said  Dick, 
crossly.  "One  can't  always  think  of 


214  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

everything,  but  I  tell  you  what,  Diana, 
I  think  it  was  putting  yourself  forward  in 
a  very  unbecoming  way  for  a  girl,  and 
I  don't  believe  Anne  would  have  liked  it 
at  all." 

"  But,  Dick,  I  didn't  put  myself  for- 
ward," said  Diana,  beseechingly.  "  How 
could  I  help  coming  when  Mr.  Lyon 
called  me,  and  I  couldn't  say  I  didn't 
know  when  I  did." 

"  Mr.  Lyon  makes  a  perfect  fool  of 
you,"  said  Dick,  not  answering  her 
question.  "  Osborne  said  he  had  his 
favorites,  and  it's  a  good  thing  for  you 
you  are  one  of  them." 

"0,  Dick!  I'm  not.  Please  don't 
be  cross,"  implored  Diana.  "You  know 
I  couldn't  help  coming,  and  as  to  what 
Osborne  said  about  Mr.  Lyon  I  shouldn't 
think  you'd  want  to  quote  him  after  what 
Harvey  told  you  this  morning." 


SUMMARY   JUSTICE.  215 

"  There  ain't  no  use  believing  a  word 
that  Osborne  Briggs  says,"  said  Simeon. 
"  He's  a  regular  liar,  and  the  less  you 
have  to  do  with  him  the  better,  Master 
Dick.  'Pears  to  me  like  you  was  in  kind 
of  a  temper.  Don't  you  go  scoldin' 
your  little  sister,  dar.  You're  too  big  a 
boy  for  that." 

"  0,  Dick's  not  scolding,  Uncle  Simeon," 
said  Diana.  "  He's  only  a  little  worried ; 
I  think  everything  went  wrong  in  school 
this  morning." 

So  Dick  said  no  more  ana  tried  to 
control  his  ill-humor  or  rather  its  ex- 
pression, but  for  some  time  he  was 
secretly  vexed  at  Diana,  whenever 
he  remembered  that  morning  scene,  and 
the  "things  concealed  under  various 
leaves." 


CHAPTER  X. 

CHRISTMAS      TIMES. 

I T  WAS  drawing  near  Christmas  time. 
That  year  the  holiday  fell  on   Mon- 
day,   and    school    closed    for   a    two 
weeks'  vacation  the  Friday  before. 

The  children  had  been  promised  a 
Christmas  party  by  Aunt  Sophy,  and  as 
Dick  wished  to  invite  all  the  boys  in  the 
academy,  and  Diana  all  the  girls,  the 
list  was  a  long  one.  Anne  would  have 
shortened  it  a  little,  but  Aunt  Sophy  had 
begged  that  the  dear  children  might  have 
their  own  way  entirely,  and  expressed 
her  fears  that  any  one  left  out  might  feel 
216 


CHRISTMAS   TIMES.  217 

hurt.  "  Besides,"  said  Mrs.  Bland,  "  it  is 
just  as  easy  to  make  plenty  of  things 
while  you  are  about  it,  as  it  is  to  make  a 
little."  So  the  list  was  not  shortened  by 
a  single  name,  and  Dick  and  Diana  were 
happy. 

"  Seeing  that  you  have  asked  the  whole 
institution,"  said  Will,  "  why  don't  you 
ask  the  teachers  too  ?" 

"  0,  that  would  be  fun !"  cried  Diana. 
"I  dare  say  Miss  Allen  and  Miss 
Spencer  would  come,  and  very  likely  Mr. 
Lyon,  and  I'm  almost  sure  Mr.  Mclntyre 
will  refuse,  so  I  can  be  civil  to  him,  you 
know,  all  the  same.  Well,  Will,  I  dorit 
like  Mr.  Mclntyre,  and  I  just  can't  help 
it,  and  what's  more  I  don't  believe  you 
liked  him  either  that  evening  he  was 
here." 

"  I  dare  say  he  is  a  very  excellent 
young  man,  Di,"  said  the  Major,  smiling. 


218  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

"But  don't  you  think  it's  a  great  pity 
that  excellent  people  should  be  so  disagree- 
able sometimes  ?  You  feel  as  if  you 
ought  to  like  them  and  you  can't,  and  the 
more  you  can't,  the  more  you  don't  like 
them.  I'm  not  going  to  be  in  any  of  Mr. 
Mclntyre's  classes  next  term — I'm  real 
glad." 

"  I  can't  say  I  very  much  wonder,  my 
little  sister,"  said  Will,  suppressing  a 
yawn,  as  he  remembered  the  evening  he 
had  spent  trying  to  entertain  Mr.  Mc- 
Intyre.  That  young  gentleman  never  for 
one  moment  laid  aside  the  school-master; 
any  talk  or  reading  that  was  not  what  he 
called  "directly  instructive,"  that  is,  did 
not  consist  of  the  hardest,  dryest  facts, 
presented  in  the  stoniest  manner,  he 
thought  unworthy  of  rational  beings.  His 
own  conversation  consisted  either  of  simple 
statements  of  such  "  fax  "  as  he  was  pleased 


CHRISTMAS   TIMES.  219 

emphatically  to  call  them,  or  in  asking 
such  questions  as — "  What  is  the  easiest 
mode  of  adding  a  column  of  figures  ?" 
"  What  is  the  inclination  of  the  earth  upon 
its  axis  ?"  "  Why  is  it  colder  in  winter 
than  in  summer,  if  the  earth  is  nearer  the 
sun  ?" 

This  last  problem  he  put  forth  to  the 
Major  at  Mrs.  Eland's  tea-table.  Will  had 
replied  gravely  that  "  it  was  generally 
supposed  that  the  sun  was  colder  in  winter, 
and  didn't  give  out  so  much  heat." 

Mr.  Mclntyre  had  informed  him  that  he 
was  mistaken  in  that  supposition,  and  had 
elaborately  explained  the  matter  to  him, 
thereby  throwing  Dick  and  Diana  into  fits 
of  suppressed  laughter.  Will  had  listened 
attentively  to  the  explanation,  and  Mr. 
Mclntyre  used  in  after  times  to  tell  this 
story  as  proof  of  the  superficial  education 
given  to  army  officers. 


220  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

Mr.  Mclntyre  being  asked  did  decline 
to  come,  but  Miss  Spencer  and  Miss  Allen 
gave  a  smiling  assent,  and  Mr.  Lyon  made 
Diana  a  bow  and  said,  "  Thank  you, 
ma'am." 

"  But  you  will  come,  Mr.  Lyon,  won't 
you?"  said  Diana  eagerly,  detaining  him 
as  he  was  about  to  take  flight  from  the 
academy  steps.  "  We  shan't  have  half  so 
much  fun  without  you." 

"Yes,  ma'am;  certainly,  ma'am;  very 
much  obliged,"  said  Mr.  Lyon,  who  was 
fond  of  Diana,  and  the  next  instant,  as  it 
seemed,  he  was  half  way  down  the  street. 

That  Friday  morning,  however,  Diana 
did  not  go  to  school.  The  weather  which 
had  been  bright,  clear,  and  cold,  had 
turned  grey,  damp,  and  sloppy;  and  the 
snow  which  had  lain  two  feet  on  a  level 
for  a  month,  was  running  fast  away  under 
an  untimely  thaw.  There  was  a  ra\v, 


CHRISTMAS   TIMES.  221 

chilly  wind,  and,  as  Diana  had  a  little 
cold,  Anne  thought  it  best  for  her  sister 
to  stay  at  home.  Diana  acquiesced  the 
more  readily  in  her  decision,  as  nothing 
in  particular  would  be  done  on  breaking- 
up  day,  and  she  had  a  new  magazine 
to  read. 

Dick  left  her  lying  most  comfortably 
on  the  parlor  sofa,  with  her  book,  and 
the  great  brindle  cat,  old  Tom,  who 
was  very  fond  of  her,  and  liked  nothing 
better  than  to  lie  in  her  lap. 

As  there  was  no  one  but  himself,  Dick 
preferred  to  ride  to  school  on  Pick  the 
pony,  and  carried  his  dinner  with  him. 

Mr.  Lyon  expressed  his  concern  at 
hearing  that  Diana  was  not  well,  and 
accepted  the  excuse  for  her  absence.  School 
was  dismissed  earlier  than  usual  on  the 
List  day,  and  with  laugh  and  shout 
and  song,  mutual  good  wishes  for  the 

19* 


222  THE    ICE   RAFT. 

season,  and  multitudinous  chatter,  the 
academy  broke  up  for  the  vacation; 
not  a  pupil  but  heartily  wished  Mr. 
Lyon  a  merry  Christmas  as  he  sped  up 
the  wet,  sloppy  street,  surrounded  by 
a  group  of  the  older  pupils,  and  carrying 
in  his'  arms  little  Bessie  Baker,  the 
youngest  in  Miss  Spencer's  "primary," 
and  the  baby  of  the  school,  whom  he 
set  down,  dry  and  warm,  on  her  father's 
steps,  with  a  bow,  and  "  a  good  afternoon, 
ma'am.  I  wish  you  a  merry  Christmas." 

But  Bessie  threw  her  arms  around 
his  neck  and  kissed  him. 

"  Wish  you  wlwle  lot,  Mr.  Lyon,"  she 
said,  emphatically. 

In  the  meantime  Dick  was  cantering 
homeward  on  Pick,  feeling  well  pleased, 
as  he  had  a  right  to  do,  on  finding  that 
his  sister  and  himself  were  among  those 
"perfect  for  the  quarter,"  and  in  a-hurry 


CHRISTMAS   TIMES.  223 

to  tell  the  good  news  to  Diana,  and  Will, 
and  Anne,  and  to  Aunt  Sophy  who,  as 
he  knew,  would  be  delighted,  though 
she  would  not  have  the  least  idea  what 
the  honor  really  implied.  Dick  had  grown 
very  fond  of  his  Aunt  Sophy,  and  thought 
with  great  shame  on  those  unhappy 
days,  when  he  had  mimicked  her  at  Mr. 
Briggs.  He  had  almost  forgotten  Osborne's 
threat,  and  Oshorne  himself,  in  the 
interest  of  his  school  life.  The  boys 
had  not  met  since  Osborne  had  come  after 
his  books,  and,  if  they  had  passed  one 
another,  nothing  but  an  unfriendly  nod 
had  been  exchanged  between  them.  As 
Dick  drew  near  home,  however,  he  met 
Osborne  face  to  face  in  the  road.  He 
bowed  slightly,  and  turned  Pick  to  one 
side  to  allow  him  to  pass. 

"  Look  here,  Dick  Monroe  !"  said  Osborne, 
stopping    him,  "  I    want  to  know  if  you 


224  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

think  you're  going  to  ride  over  me 
with  your  confounded  airs,  because  you've 
got  a  pony,  and  I'm  on  foot  ?  I  wont  stand 
it  from  you  nor  no  one  else.  Do  you 
mean  to  cut  me?  I  just  want  to  know  if 
you  do  ?  Because  if  you  don't,  it's  all 
right,  and  if  you  .do — I'll  just  walk 
straight  back  to  your  place,  and  tell  them 
all  about  some  talk  of  yours,  before  you 
set  up  to  be  such  a  good  boy.  I  wonder 
you  ain't  afraid  of  dying,  you're  so  awful 
nice  and  pious." 

Now  Dick's  goodness,  such  as  it  was, 
was  by  no  means  of  an  alarming  kind 
or  'degree.  He  made  no  reply  at  first, 
and  jerked  the  bridle  out  of  Osborne's 
hand. 

"  0,  very  well !"  said  Osborne  ;  "  I'm 
going  your  way  then.  I  do  hate  a 
hypocrite,  and  I'll  just  see  you  get  what 
you  deserve.  You  cut  me  indeed  !" 


CHRISTMAS    TIMES.  225 

For  a  moment  Dick  thought  of  letting 
Osborne  do  his  worst,  and  telling  him 
in  so  many  words  that  the  Major  had 
forbidden  their  intercourse. 

"  But  then  he  will  go  and  tell,"  thought 
poor  Dick,  "and  just  now,  when  it's 
Christmas,  and  I've  done  so  well  in  school 
and  all !" 

Pride,  not  fear  of  punishment,  conquered 
Dick's  better  impulse. 

"  I  don't  mean  to  cut  you,  Osborne/'  he 
said,  impatiently,  "  but  I  do  wish  you 
would  stop  bringing  up  that  old  story ; 
it's  all  over  now,  and  a  fellow  don't  always 
want  to  be  reminded  how  he  made  a  fool 
of  himself." 

"Nor  want  his  folks  reminded  either," 
said  Osborne.  "  Very  well !  I  wont  tell, 
not  unless  you  provoke  me.  How  do 
you  get  on  in  school  ? ' 

"  Pretty  well,"  said  Dick. 


226  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

— «-«^»^j=».-<-« — 

"Well,  it's  a  miserable  school,"  said 
Osborne.  "Old  Lyon  don't  know  enough 
to  teach  ABC,  and  they're  the  hate- 
fullest  set  there  I  ever  saw !  /  wasn't 
going  to  school  with  a  lot  of  girls  any 
way,  so  father  took  me  out." 

Dick  laughed,  though  he  felt  vexed 
and  uncomfortable. 

"  Took  you  out !"  he  said ;  "  are  you  sure 
about  that?  How's  Widow  Brent  and 
little  Sam  ?" 

Osborne  colored  furiously. 

"  So  !  John  Graham's  told  you  that  lie, 
has  he?  If  I  don't  thrash  him  when 
I  see  him  !" 

"  Do  by  all  means,  if  you  can,"  said 
Dick.  "  But  it  was  a  real  mean  trick  in 
you." 

"  Pooh !  I  only  did  it  for  fun.  Who 
cares  for  a  little  beggar  like  that?  He 
wasn't  a  pin  the  worse." 


CHRISTMAS   TIMES.  227 

"  lie  was,  too.  He  was  sick  ever  se 
long.  It  was  a  regular  mean  shame !" 

"  0  dear  !  Tommy  good  boy  !  How  long 
since  you  felt  so  ?  But  come,  Dick,  don't 
let's  quarrel,"  said  Osborne,  following 
Dick  into  the  stable  yard.  "  See  how  high 
the  river  is  getting  !  Come  down  to  the 
water  a  few  minutes  with  me." 

Unhappily  for  himself  Dick  knew 
that  the  Major  and  Anne  were  not  at 
home,  having  gone  some  miles  down 
the  valley  to  make  a  call  on  some  acquain- 
tances of  their  aunt's. 

"Will's  gone  to  Judge  Bradley's," 
thought  Dick,  "and  I  wont  ask  him 
into  the  house,  that  I  wont,  and  I  can't 
tell  him  to  go  home,  or  go  off  and  leave 
him.  One  hates  to  be  a  bear." 

Dick  was  placed  in  rather  a  difficult 
situation,  but  he  should  have  remembered 
his  word  of  honor  given  to  his  brother; 


228  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

told  Osborne  in  so  many  words  that 
lie  bad  promised  to  play  with  him  no 
more,  and  gone  into  the  house. 

But  after  putting  Pick  into  the  stable, 
for  Primus  had  gone  to  the  village,  and 
Simeon  was  with  Anne  and  Will,  he 
followed  Osborne  reluctantly  to  the  waters 
edge. 

In  the  meantime  Diana,  who  had 
heard  the  pony  come  in,  wondered  more 
and  more  why  Dick  did  not  make  his 
appearance.  She  had  read  all  she  cared, 
to  read,  and  played  with  Tom  till  she 
was  tired.  She  wanted  to  hear  their 
report  for  the  quarter;  to  know  what  had 
gone  on  in  school.  She  had  received  a 
letter  from  John's  mother  telling  her  of 
the  safe  arrival  of  the  baby's  blanket,  and 
how  the  baby  had  worn  it  at  her  christen- 
ing, when  she  had  received  the  name  of 
Diana  Monroe.  Diana  had  been  greatly 


CHRISTMAS    TIMES.  229 

pleased  with  her  letter  ;  she  had  read  it  to 
Aunt  Sophy,  who  had  been  mildly  inter- 
ested ;  she  had  gone  into  the  kitchen  and 
read  it  to  Patty  and  Simeon,  who-  had 
been  greatly  delighted;  and  she  had  told 
the  story  to  Tom,  who  pawed  lazy  satisfac- 
tion, but  whether  at  that  or  the  fire  is 
uncertain. 

Now  she  longed  for  Will  and  Anne  to 
come  home,  and,  as  it  grew  darker,  she 
could  not  understand  why  Dick  did  not 
come  in. 

Mrs.  Bland  was  having  a  nap  in  her 
own  room.  Patty  was  busy  in  the 
kitchen  with  preparations  for  the  party, 
and  Diana  wanted  some  one  to  talk  to. 
She  went  to  the  back  window  and  looked 
out,  but  could  see  nothing  of  Dick. 

"  I'll  just  run  out  and  look  for  him," 
said  Diana  to  herself,  for  her  cold  was 
better,  and  she  thought  there  was  no 

20 


230  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

harm  in  going  out  for  a  few  minutes. 
She  wrapped  herself  warmly,  and  put  on 
her  hood,  and  taking  Tom  in  her  arms, 
by  way  of  a  muff,  went  off  towards  the 
stable.  Tom,  big  cat  as  he  was,  had  a 
passion  for  being  carried.  He  could  clear 
a  board  fence,  six  feet  high,  at  a  spring 
if  he  chose,  but  he  would  sit  mewing 
piteously  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs  for  some 
one  to  carry  him  up.  He  ranged  over 
the  roofs  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest; 
but  would  beg  with  a  most  helpless 
expression  to  be  put  up  on  a  chair.  Diana 
had  indulged  him  to  a  great  extent,  and 
he  made  her  the  slave  of  his  whims, 
greatly  to  his  own  satisfaction.  He  would 
stand  at  the  top  of  the  barn  ladder,  which 
he  had  ascended  at  two  jumps,  and  call 
to  Diana  to  bring  him  down  and  she  did 
it,  though  Will  laughed  at  her  for  climb- 
ing a  ladder  to  help  down  a  cat.  Wher- 


CHRISTMAS    TIMES.  231 


ever  Diana  was,  there  Tom  was  sure 
to  be,  and  as  she  went  out  she  took  him 
in  her  arms  from  mere  habit,  and  he  put 
his  head  on  her  shoulder,  purring  compla- 
cently at  his  own  excellent  success  in 
governing  his  mistress. 

She  went  to  the  stable,  but  could  see 
nothing  of  Dick.  She  heard  voices  from 
the  bank  below,  and  looking  out  of 
the  barn  window,  she  saw  Dick  and 
Osborne  Briggs  by  the  river  side.  They 
were  amusing  themselves  by  throwing 
sticks  and  stones  at  the  pieces  of  floating 
ice  that  now  and  then  came  down  the 
stream. 

If  the  missile  settled  upon  the  cukes 
without  sinking  them,  it  made  a  mark 
by  which  they  could  be  distinguished 
on  their  course  down  the  current,  and 
their  speed  compared.  Dick,  who  had 
at  first  cared  for  nothing  but  to  get  rid 


232  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

— *^-*zftz*~t-~. — . 

of  his  companion,  hud  become  engaged 
in  the  sport,  and  the  excitement  of  the 
race  between  his  bit  of  ice  and  Osborne's. 

"  Dear  me  !  What  a  nuisance  !  There  is 
Osborne  Briggs  iigain  !  I  know  what  he's 
after,"  thought  Diana,  shrewdly  to  herself. 
"  He  -wants  Dick  to  ask  him  to  our  party, 
but  he  wont,  not  if  I  know  it ;  I'll  go  down, 
and  perhaps  he  will  go  off.  I  know  Dick 
promised  Will  he'd  have  nothing  more 
to  do  with  him." 

Still  carrying  Inzy  old  Tom  in  her  arms 
Diana  pushed  her  way  down  to  the  river 
side  by  the  path  which  Simeon  had 
shovelled,  and  which  was  slippery  with 
half-frozen  snow  and  water. 

"  Dick,"  said  Diann,  rather  timidly,  after 
a  cool,  but  polite  notice  of  Osborne,  "it's 
most  tea  time." 

"  I'll  come  in  a  minute,  Di,"  said  Dick, 
"  only  I  want  to  see  which  piece  beats, 


CHRISTMAS    TIMES.  233 

mine  or  Osborne's.  That's  mine  way 
ahead,  -with  the  stick  on  it." 

Diana  stood  a  moment  or  two,  chilly 
and  impatient,  and  expecting  every 
minute  to  see  Simeon  drive  the  horses  into 
the  barn  yard,  or  to  hear  Will's  voice 
call  them. 

"  And  he'll  he  provoked  at  Dick," 
thought  Diana,  "  and  I  can't  bear  to  have  a 
fuss.  0  dear !  I  wish  that  boy  was  in 
Egypt."  Osborne  knew  very  well  that 
Diana  wanted  him  to  go  home.  Indeed 
she  was  never  very  well  able  to  hide  what 
she  felt,  and  her  knit  forehead,  her  anxious 
face,  and  the  impatient  tap  of  her  little 
foot,  all  said  "  I  wish  you'd  go,"  as  plainly 
as  if  she  had  spoken  the  words. 

For  this  very  reason  Osborne  was 
determined  not  to  go,  and  began  to  think 
how  he  could  tease  Diana. 

"  IIo !"  said    he,  "  what    a  great,  ugly, 


234  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

lazy  cat!  I  dare  say  it  never  caught  a 
mouse  in  its  life." 

"He  did,"  said  Diana,  indignantly;  "lie 
caught  a  big  rat  only  yesterday,  and 
another  in  the  barn  this  morning,  and 
brought  it  in  to  show  to  Patty.  Didn't 
you,  Tom?" 

Torn,  who  would  always  answer  when 
spoken  to,  made  a  comfortable  little  noise 
between  a  mew  and  a  purr. 

"  Look  there,  Dick  !"  said  Osborne, 
"there's  another  big  piece  coming  along, 
close  in  shore  too.  If  we  can  put  some- 
thing on  that  we  can  see  it  ever  so  far." 

"  Please  come  in  now,  wont  you,  Dick?" 
asked  Diana,  earnestly,  "  I've  got  something 
I  want  to  show  you." 

"0  yes!  Go  with  its  little  sister! 
Do  !"  said  Osborne,  in  a  whining  baby  tone. 
"You've  got  to  do  just  as  she  tells  you, 
haven't  you  ?  I  heard  how  old  Lyon  stuck 


CHRISTMAS    TIMES.  235 

her  up  befoie  the  whole  school  when  your 
class  didn't  know  their  lesson.  What  did 
old  Lyon  give  you  for  it,  sissy  ?  Say  ?" 

"I  don't  know  any  such  person,"  said 
Diana,  with  flashing  eyes,  and  all  the  dig- 
nity she  could  assume.  "Dick,  I  think 
you've  forgotten  what  Will  said." 

If  it  had  not  been  for  this  unlucky 
reference  of  Osborne's,  I  think  Dick  would 
have  gone  into  the  house,  but  the  speech 
renewed  his  little  jealousy  of  his  sister, 
which  he  had  almost  forgotten,  and  he  felt 
that  he  could  not  let  Osborne  supposa 
Diana  governed  him. 

"  Forgotten  what  Will  said !"  repeated 
Osborne.  "Fore  I'd  be  ordered  about  by 
my  own  brother,  and  bossed  round  as  you 
are,  if  he  is  in  the  army  and  thinks  him- 
self a  big  man !" 

"He  doesn't  either!"  said  Diana,  much 
excited.  "  I  should  think  you'd  be  ashamed. 


236  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

Please  to  let  my  cat  alone,"  she  added, 
drawing  herself  up,  for  Odborne  had  begun 
pulling  Tom's  ears  and  tail,  and  taking 
liberties  with  him,  to  which  Tom  responded 
by  an  angry  switching  of  the  abused  mem- 
ber, and,  as  Osborne  repeated  the  insult,  he 
turned  like  lightning,  and  striking  fiercely 
with  his  big  powerful  paw,  left  a  deep 
bleeding  print  of  all  his  talons  in  Osborne's 
hand. 

"Nasty,  treacherous  brute!"  said  Os- 
borne, shaking  the  wounded  hand. 

<;  It  served  you  right,"  said  Diana. 
"  You  needn't  have  teased  him.  Dick, 
do  come,  please." 

"  Run  in,  Di,  I'll  come  in  a  few  minutes. 
I  just  want  to  see  that  big  piece  of  ice  go 
down,"  said  Dick.  "It's  coming  close  in 
shore,"  and,  seeing  that  there  was  nothing 
near  which  he  could  put  on  it  for  a  mark, 
he  ran  up  the  low  bank  for  a  bit  of  bark. 


CHRISTMAS    TIMES.  237 

The  ice  cake  drew  nearer  and  nearer. 
It  was  a  thick  and  solid  piece,  larger 
than  any  they  had  yet  seen;  Diana  and 
Osborne  stood  watching  it.  It  was  passing 
about  a  foot  from  the  shore.  Dick  was 
still  above  them  searching  for  a  stick. 

"  Here's  something  better  than  anything 
you'll  find,"  said  Osborne;  and  snatching 
Tom  from  Diana's  arms,  he  threw  him  into 
the  middle  of  the  ice  cake. 

"  My  cat !  My  cat !"  screamed  Diana. 
"  Pussy  !  Pussy  !" 

Tom  could  have  jumped  on  shore  very 
easily,  but  afraid  of  the  water  he  only 
held  up  one  paw,  and  mewed  piteously. 

"  0,  he'll  be  drowned !"  sobbed  Diana, 
and,  without  a  thought  of  anything  but 
her  favorite's  danger,  or  waiting  for  Dick 
to  come  down  the  bank,  she  sprang  on  the 
ice  cake  herself,  all  but  falling  into  the 
water  as  it  tipped  with  her  weight.  In 


238  THE   ICE   RAFT. 


that  instant  Tom  had  run  to  the  other 
side  of  the  raft,  and  Diana  went  after  him, 
slowly  and  cautiously  on  the  wet  slippery 
ice. 

"Diana!  Diana!"  called  Dick  and 
Osborne  at  once,  a  come  back.  You'll  fall 
in  !" 

Diana  had  reached  the  cat,  and  holding 
him  in  her  arms  turned  to  come  back. 
She  stopped  with  a  cry  of  dismay.  The 
narrow  channel,  over  which  she  had 
sprung,  was  now  six  feet  wide,  and  the 
stream  was  sweeping  the  ice  cake  swiftly 
and  steadily  into  the  middle  current. 

"  0,  Dick  !  Dick  !"  cried  Diana,  extend- 
ing one  hand,  and  holding  Tom  tight 
with  the  other,  "do  get  us  off!" 

Poor  Tom,  who  felt  the  danger,  uttered 
a    piteous    squall,    and    rubbed  his    nose 
imploringly  on  his  little  mistress. 
i    Neither  of  the    boys   could   swim,  and 


CHRISTMAS    TIMES.  239 

there  was  no  boat.  Dick  remembered  with 
a  sickening  heart  that  Will  was  gone,  and 
that  there  was  no  one  at  home  but  Patty 
and  Miss  Bland. 

"  She'll  be  drowned !"  said  Osborne, 
turning  pale. 

"  If  she  is,  it's  3  our  doing,"  said  Dick, 
fiercely. 

"  I'm  sure  I  didn't  mean  to — "  began 
Osborne. 

"  Didn't  mean  to,"  retorted  Dick 
bitterly,  while  every  moment  carried  his 
sister  further  from  shore,,  "  and  it's  only  a 
mile  to  the  dam.  Hold  on  tight,  Di,"  he 
shouted,  and  turning  away  from  Osborne, 
he  rushed  up  the  bank,  nnd  into  the  house. 

Osborne  went  home  to  tell  his  father, 
intending  carefully  to  conceal  his  own 
share  in  the  matter.  He  was  more 
alarmed  for  the  possible  consequences  to 
himself,  than  troubled  for  Diana's  fate, 


240  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

though  he  would  have  been  glad  enough 
to  hear  that  she  was  safe  on  shore. 

"  She  needn't  have  provoked  me  so," 
he  thought,  trying  to  excuse  himself;  "  and 
whoever  would  have  thought  of  her  jump- 
ing on  that  ice  and  risking  her  life  for  an 
old  cat." 

Dick  burst  into  Mrs.  Bland's  room,  where 
Patty  was  saying  something  about  the 
supper  for  the  party. 

"  0 !  Aunt  Sophy  !"  he  cried,  "  Diana  is 
floating  down  the  river  on  a  piece  of  ice ! 
0,  where  is  Will?" 

Dick  had  not  expected  as  much  help 
from  his  aunt  as  from  Patty.  But  Patty 
began  to  wring  her  hands  and  ask  questions. 
Mrs.  Bland  started  to  her  feet,  in  one 
second  a  transformed  woman. 

"  Hush,  Patty  !"  she  said.  "  Where  is 
the  nearest  boat  ?" 

In  all  his  distress  Dick  was  amazed  at 


ririlTSTMAS    TIMES.  241 

— ~>~aM9«*»- 

his  aunt's  tones.  They  were  so  firm,  clear, 
and  decided. 

"  None  nearer  than  the  village,  aunt." 

"  Take  the  pony,  ride  as  fast  as  you  can. 
Get  to  the  village  before  the  ice  does,  if 
possible.  Was  it  solid  ?" 

"Yes,  aunt.  It  was  shore  ice,  half  a 
foot  thick." 

"  Make  some  one  get  out  a  boat ;  tell 
them  I  will  give  anything  to  the  man  who 
saves  her.  Do  not  lose  a  moment." 

Dick  sped  to  the  stable,  wondering  why 
lie  had  not  thought  of  this  plan,  the  only 
one.  lie  did  not  stop  to  saddle  Pick,  but 
flung  himself  on  the  pony's  back,  and  set 
out  on  a  headlong  race  to  the  village. 
The  pony  was  fleet  and  strong,  but  glan- 
cing at  the  river  Dick  could  see  the  ice 
raft  before  him,  and  in  its  midst  a  little 
crouching  figure  in  a  scarlet  shawl. 

As  long  as  he  lived  Dick  never  forgot 


242  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

that  ride.  The  bitterness  of  remorse  was 
in  his  heart,  and  the  iron  entered  into  his 
soul.  Why  had  he  broken  his  word  to 
his  brother?  Why  had  he  not  gone  in 
when  Diana  called  him?  Suppose  the 
raft  parted  before  he  could  reach  the  town. 
Suppose  no  boat  was  to  be  had,  or  the 
ice  went  over  the  dam  before  one  could 
be  found.  Frightful  misgivings  clustered 
thick  and  fast.  There  seemed  a  hundred 
chances  to  one  against  Diana's  life. 

With  all  his  anxiety  and  anguish,  he 
noticed  things  along  the  road  as  he  never 
had  before,  the  outline  of  the  hills,  the 
bare  trees  against  the  sky,  the  brimming, 
whirling  river.  He  &aw  in  the  current 
the  sticks  he  and  Osborne  had  thrown. 
How  fast  they  went,  though  he  passed 
them.  He  passed,  too,  that  scarlet  spot  on 
the  grey,  angry  water.  It  did  not  move  as 
he  shouted  wildly,  and  a  new  fear  possessed 


CHRISTMAS   TIMES.  243 

him.  What  if  Diana  were  already  dead  of 
cold  and  fright,  and  he  could  never  tell 
her  how  he  had  loved  her  all  the  time? 
What  if  when  he  came  back  it  should  be 
with  his  little  sister  dead,  the  river  water 
dripping  from  her  long  curls?  What  an 
unselfish,  loyal,  brave  little  creature  she 
had  been  always,  only  he  had  never  seen 
it  till  now,  when  it  was  too  late.  How 
like  her  it  was  to  go  after  the  old  cat! 
Dick  thought  remorsefully  even  of  Tom. 
"  I'll  never  pull  his  tail  again  as  long  as  I 
live  !"  said  poor  Dick,  with  a  choking  sob. 

Diana  wrould  be  drowned,  he  knew  she 
would,  and  it  would  be  his  fault.  Could 
he  be  the  same  boy  who  not  more  than  an 
hour  before  had  been  riding  home  over 
this  road,  careless,  light  of  heart,  pleased 
with  himself  and  with  life? 

Dick  did  not  pray  in  words  for  he  could 
find  none,  but  he  prayed  in  spirit  as  he 


244  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

s^-jo*^^*^.-*. 

never  had  before,  while  Pick  dashed 
forward  on  his  mad  gallop. 

It  was  not  more  than  four  minutes  till 
he  reached  the  covered  bridge,  but  it 
seemed  to  him  four  hours.  He  dashed 
beneath  the  arch,  but  reined  up,  half  across, 
as  he  saw  Mr.  Lyon  standing  and  looking 
out  of  one  of  the  square  windows,  which 
made  a  picture-frame  for  the  grey  winter 
landscape. 

"  0,  Mr.  Lyon !"  he  cried,  as  the  princi- 
pal turned  toward  him;  "Diana's  on  that 
piece  of  ice  coming  down  the  river  toward 
the  dam!  Don't  you  see  her?  0  help 
me  to  save  her  !  Where's  a  boat  ?" 

After  all  was  over,  Dick  said  that  he 
had  never  seen  anything  like  the  swift- 
ness with  which  Mr.  Lyon  sped  across  the 
bridge,  and  seized  a  horse  and  cutter  from 
an  astonished  gentleman,  just  preparing  to 
use  it  himself. 


CHRISTMAS    TIMES.  245 

"Jump  in  !"  he  said  to  Dick,  who  flung 
Peck's  rein  to  the  tall  man  and  obeyed. 

The  horse  was  a  spirited  one,  and  fast 
they  flew  up  the  road  to  a  shanty  where 
lived  an  Irishman  owning  a  boat. 

The  ice  float  was  drawing  nearer 
the  dam  now.  Dick  could  see  plainly 
that  it  had  grown  smaller.  The  water- 
washed  across  it.  It  whirled  and  wavered 
perilously,  as  the  current  grew  swifter  and 
swifter.  Dick  called  aloud  in  an  agony, 
but  though  Diana  answered,  the  sound 
was  lost  in  the  roar  of  the  river  over  the 
d-iin.  Across  the  water,  however,  came  a 
shrill  and  piteous  mew,  which  showed 
that  the  old  cat  was  still  in  the  land  of 
the  living. 

Mr.  Lyon  looked  around  for  the  boat. 
It  was  lying  on  the  shore  tied  to  a  stake. 
"  Where  are  the  oars  ?"  asked  Mr.  Lyon, 
sharply. 


246  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

"  Shure  they're  under  Pat's  bed  and  the 
place  is  locked,"  said  a  woman,  one  of  the 
crowd  which  was  fast  gathering.  "  What 
would  you  wan't  'em  for?" 

Mr.  Lyon  looked  around,  caught  up  an 
axe  which  lay  near  on  a  pile  of  drift  wood, 
burst  open  the  door  at  one  blow,  whirled 
out  the  oars  from  under  the  bed,  scattering 
from  this  retreat  four  hens  and  a  little 
black  pig,  and  reappeared  on  the  shore. 

"  I  want  a  man,"  he  said,  in  his  ringing 
tones,  "  to  go  out  with  me  and  get  one  of 
my  scholars,  this  boy's  sister,  off  that  ice 
before  she  drowns." 

How  bitterly  Dick  regretted  that  he  did 
not  know  how  to  manage  a  boat.  There 
were  as  yet  but  two  men  in  the  crowd 
assembling  about  him,  for  most  of  those 
in  the  neighborhood  worked  in  the  great 
tannery,  and  the  mills  below  the  dam, 
where  the  rumor  had  not  yet  reached. 


CHRISTMAS    TIMES.  247 

Both  the  men  present  hung  back,  for  there 
was  imminent  danger  that  the  boat  would 
be  swept  over  the  fall. 

"Take  me,  sir!"  cried  Matthew  Wells, 
springing  forward ;  "  I  can  manage  a  boat 
first  rate  !  I  can  indeed,  sir !" 

Mr.  Lyon  looked  at  him  one  moment. 
"  Come  !"  he  said. 

The  next  instant  the  boat  was  out  in 
the  current,  heading  for  the  middle  stream, 
down  which  Diana  was  now  drifting  with 
fearful  rapidity.  She  sat  crouched  in  the 
middle  of  the  frail  raft,  her  head  lowered, 
seemingly  heedless  of  the  efforts  making 
for  her  rescue. 

Now  came  running  up  a  crowd  of  work- 
men from  the  mills,  eager  to  know  the 
state  of  the  case.  A  dozen  women  told 
the  story,  and  pointed  out  the  child. 

"  Was  ever  such  a  set  of  tarnation 
fools!"  cried  one  giant  in  a  red  shirt. 


248  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

"  Couldn't  none  of  you  have  the  sense  to 
call  us?  Who's  that  in  the  boat  ?" 

"  The  school  teacher  and  a  boy." 

"  A  boy  /"  retorted  the  man,  with  an 
unspeakable  emphasis.  "  Pretty  fellows 
you  are,"  he  said,  to  the  two  men  who  had 
hung  back.  "  It's  boy's  work  to  fight  that 
current  now,  ain't  it  ?" 

"An  indade  you  may  sny  that  same," 
said  another.  "  Dennis  McEvoy,  what  do 
ye  mane  to  be  stnndin'  here  settin'  still 
at  your  aze,  prarrein'  about  like  a  paycock, 
like  a  baste  as  ye  ar',  an  let  the  innocent 
be  drowned  for  want  of  a  man !" 

"  Shure  my  life's  worth  as  much  as 
another's." 

"  Faix,  an  it  aint  then." 

"  Hold  your  tongues  !"  said  the  tall  man 
in  the  red  shirt  commandingly.  "  Some- 
body get  out  Piper's  boat  with  me  and  go 
after  them,  or  they'll  be  swept  over  the 


CHRISTMAS    TIMES.  249 

dam  yet.  That  little  professor's  got  more 
grit  than  muscle  I  guess,"  and  he  sprang 
down  the  bank  followed  by  two  of  his 
companions. 

"  Is  it  your  sister,  dear  ?"  asked  a  sym- 
pathizing woman  of  Dick,  who  stood  with 
straining  eyes  watching  the  progress  of  the 
boat  as  it  fought  against  the  stream. 

"  Yes.  Don't  talk  to  me  !"  said  Dick. 
"  0,  God  !  my  God !  take  my  life,  but  spare 
hers !"  he  said  to  himself.  He  did  riot 
heed  that  John  stood  beside  him,  holding 
his  hand  hard  and  fast.  In  the  midst  of 
all  his  sickening  anxiety  and  suspense, 
John  was  half  envying  Matthew  Wells, 
and  wishing  he  could  "just  have  had  his 
chance." 

There  was  a  jingle  of  bells,  a  sleigh 
stopped  in  the  midst  of  the  crowd. 
"  What's  the  matter  here  ?"  asked  the 
Major's  voice. 


250  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

No  one  answered ;  a  whisper  ran  through 
the  assembly  that  the  lady  and  gentleman 
in  the  sleigh  were  the  child's  brother  and 
sister.  The  silence  with  which  their 
questions  were  met,  the  looks  of  sympathy 
turned  on  them,  told  the  Major  and  Anne 
that  they  were  someway  concerned  in  the 
matter.  Anne  turned  very  white. 

"  There's  a  little  girl  on  a  bit  of  ice  out 
in  the  river,  sir,"  said  a  man.  "  There's 
two  boats  out  after  her  as  you  can  see  if 
you  stand  up,  but  it's  a  hard  fight." 

g<  The  Lord  have  mercy  !"  cried  Simeon. 
"It's  our  Miss  Diana." 

Anne  gave  a  half  stifled  cry,  and  spring- 
ing from  her  seat,  hurried  to  the  very 
edge  of  the  bank,  the  crowd  making  way 
for  her  and  for  Will.  Neither  of  them 
saw  Dick,  who  was  lower  down. 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Lyon,  rowing  with 
swift  telling  strokes,  had  reached  the 


CHRISTMAS   TIMES.  251 

middle  current,  toward  which  Matthew 
steadily  steered,  undismayed  by  the  near- 
ing  roar  of  the  fall.  In  spite  of  all  they 
could  do,  however,  the  river  swept  them 
onward. 

Down,  down  directly  in  their  path  came 
the  ice  raft,  now  crumbling  fast,  threaten- 
ing every  moment  to  part,  and  let  fall  its 
burden  into  the  dark,  swirling  water.  On 
it  came  directly  in  the  way  of  the  boat — 
Mr.  Lyon  dropped  his  oars  and  leaned 
forward.  He  caught  Diana's  dress  in  both 
hands,  the  next  instant  the  cake  of  ice 
tipped,  parted,  and  plunged  her  into  the 
water.  But  Mr.  Lyon  held  her  fast,  and 
the  next  moment  she  was  in  the  boat, 
half  insensible,  but  still  clinging  fast  to  the 
old  cat. 

Cheer  upon  cheer  broke  from  the  spec- 
tators on  shore,  and  they  were  answered 
from  the  water  as  the  three  men  in  Piper's 


252  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

boat,  dashing  downward  with  the  stream, 
liung  a  rope  to  Mr.  Lyon,  and  rowed  slowly 
to  shore,  fighting  the  current  every  inch 
of  the  way. 

"  You  are  quite  safe,  ma'am,  quite  safe," 
said  Mr.  Lyon,  wrapping  up  Diana  tenderly 
in  his  own  coat,  and  wringing  the  water 
from  her  dress  and  hair. 

"  My  pussy !"  were  Diana's  first  words; 

"  Here,  all  right,"  said  Matthew,  putting 
Tom  into  her  arms,  where  he  lay  shiver- 
ing with  cold  and  wet. 

"  I  arn  so  glad  it  was  you,  sir,"  murmured 
Diana.  "  I  thought  I  should  be  drowned, 
and  never  come  to  school  any  more. 
And  Matthew,  too;  I'm  so  tired,  T  can't 
say  all  I  mean  !"  said  Diana,  looking  up 
into  the  boy's  face.  "  But  it  was  so  good 
of  you." 

"  No  it  want,'"  said  Matthew,  gruffly. 
"  Here  we  are." 


CHRISTMAS    TIMES.  253 

— ^^jf£l&^  - 

They  reached  the  shore,  and  then  and 
there,  before  all  the  people,  Anne  Monroe 
threw  her  arms  round  Mr.  Lyon's  neck 
and  kissed  him. 

"  Good  for  yon,  Professor,"  said  the  big 
man  in  the  red  shirt. 

"  Bat,"  as  John  remarked  afterwards, 
"  the  principal  didn't  act  as  if  he  thought 
it  was  bad  to  take." 

"  Major  Monroo,"  said  Mr.  Lynn,  cutting 
short  Will's  thanks,  "I  couldn't  have 
done  it  but  for  this  boy.  This  is  Master 
Matthew  Wells,  I  am  proud  of  him.  He 
is  a  credit  to  the  school.  Shake  hands, 
Wells." 

Poor  Matthew !  He  had  never  been 
thought  a  credit  to  any  one  before.  He 
colored  scarlet  with  mingled  shyness  and 
pleasure. 

"  I  wa'nt  goin'  to  let  little  Di  Monroe 
drown,  not  if  I  could  help  it,"  he  said, 


254  TOE    ICE    RAFT. 

kicking  up  the  gravel  with  one  foot,  and 
then  he  ran  away  as  if  he  had  been  dis- 
gracing himself. 

John  ran  after  him  and  caught  him  by 
the  hand. 

"O,  Mat,"  he  said,  "look  here  !  I  want 
you  to  take  my  claws ;  do  take  my  claws  !" 
and  seeing  that  he  was  not  understood  he 
added,  "my  grizzly's  claws  that  father 
sent  me.  I  say,  you're  a  regular  fine 
fellow." 

Matthew  obstinately  refused  the  offered 
claws,  but  from  that  hour  he  took  a  turn 
for  the  better  in  school  and  out. 

Diana  was  borne  up  the  bank  in  a  sort 
of  triumphal  procession,  and  into  the 
nearest  house,  where  the  bustling  mistress 
soon  provided  her  with  a  change  of  her 
own  daughter's  clothes,  and  the  hottest 
possible  drink. 

Diana  seemed  confused  and  bewildered 


CHRISTMAS    TIMES.  255 

with  the  fright  and  suffering.  It  was  not 
till  Mr.  Leslie,  who  had  heen  summoned, 
proposed  that  they  should  go  to  the  par- 
sonage, as  nearer  than  Mrs.  Eland's,  that 
she  seemed  to  wake  up.  Then  she  begged 
so  earnestly  to  go  home  to  Aunt  Sophy 
that  Will  could  not  cross  her. 

In  the  mean  time  the  "  Pat "  to  whom 
the  boat  belonged  had  come  home.  He 
made  light  of  the  smashing  of  his  door, 
and  expressed  himself  delighted  that  the 
boat  had  been  used,  especially  as  the 
Major  gave  him  enough  to  pay  for  a  dozen 
doors. 

"  There !"  he  said  to  a  more  thrifty 
neighbor,  il  look  at  it  now !  ye've  always 
driving  at  me  about  laving  the  axe  out 
doors,  and  where  would  the  young  lady 
be  now  if  I  hadn't?" 

"  Dick,"  whispered  Diana,  too  low  for 
any  one  but  himself  to  hear  as  he  bent 


256  THE    ICE    RAFT. 


over  her  kissing  her  again  and  again, 
"Dick  I'll  never  tell." 

"  See  here,  Dick,"  said  Will  that  instant, 
as  he  lifted  Diana  to  carry  her  out  to  the 
sleigh  ;  "  I  wish  you'd  ride  up  and  ask  Dr. 
Porter  to  come  and  see  Di.  I  presume 
she  is  well  enough  now,  but  still  Anne 
would  rather  he  saw  her." 

"The  cat?  Yes,  rny  darling,  here  he 
is  ;  but  it  was  hardly  worth  while  to  risk 
your  life  for  him." 

"I  didn't  think  anything  about  that," 
said  Diana,  with  equal  truth  and  simplicity. 

The  Major  and  Anne,  from  their  sister's 
confused  account,  were  under  the  im- 
pression that  she  and  Tom  had  gone  down 
to  the  river  alone,  and  that  jumping  on 
the  cake  of  ice  had  been  Tom's  own  act; 
for  of  Osborne,  Diana  had  not  said  a  word. 

"I  want  to  tell  you  about  it,  Will," 
beo;an  Dick. 


CHRISTMAS    TIMES.  257 


"  Never  mind  now,  my  boy.  We  have 
her  safe,  thank  God  ;  and  the  first  thing  is 
to  get  her  home.  You  can  tell  us  all 
about  it  afterwards.  To  think  what  we 
owe  Mr.  Lyon  and  your  school  mate  !  I 
want  to  see  those  three  men  that  went  out 
in  the  other  boat.  My  friends,"  said  Will, 
as  he  met  them  at  the  door,  "  I  wish  there 
was  anything  I  could  do  or  say  to  show 
how  much  we  all  thank  you." 

"Bless  you,  Major!  that  wa'nt  nothing 
to  make  a  fuss  about,"  said  the  big  man. 
"  We've  all  been  raftsmen,  and  a  little 
water  more  or  less  don't  count  in  these 
parts;  but  if  that  little  professor  aint 
some,  I  wouldn't  say  so  !  My  boy  's 
always  wanted  to  go  to  the  'caclemy  and 
I've  thought  it  all  nonsense,  but  I'll  send 
him  when  the  next  term  opens,  you  bet!" 

And  sure  enough  the  boy  went. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A       CONFESSION. 

'HE  old  horses  had  never  gone  home  as 
swiftly  as  they  did  that  evening. 
Mrs.  Bland  came  out  to  meet  the 
party,  pale  and  anxious,  but  perfectly 
calm  and  collected.  To  Anne's  surprise 
she  wasted  no  time  in  questions. 

"  Thank  God !"  she  said,  "  the  dear 
child  is  safe.  Anne,  love,  you'd  better  take 
her  right  up-stairs  and  put  her  to  bed ; 
I've  had  a  good  fire  made  in  your  room, 
and  the  bed  warmed.  Diana,  darling,  how 
do  you  feel  ?" 

"  0,  Aunt  Sophy  !  Aunt   Sophy  !"  half 
258 


A   CONFESSION.  259 

sobbed  Diana,  "  I  thought  I  should  never 
see  you  again.  The  old  cat  is  all  safe, 
Patty.  Please  give  him  some  warm  milk." 

Patty  embraced  Diana  and  the  cat 
alternately.  Tom,  who  had  somewhat 
recovered  his  spirits,  purred  effusively 
on  finding  himself  at  home,  and  went 
up-stairs  with  the  procession  attending 
Diana,  twisting  herself  round  every  one's 
feet,  and  nearly  tripping  the  Major 
as  he  carried  his  little  sister. 

"  It  showed  great  presence  of  mind 
in  Dick  to  ride  down  to  the  village  as 
he  did,"  said  Will  to  Anne. 

"  Laws,  Major  Monroe !"  said  Patty, 
"  'twasn't  Master  Dick  thought  of  riding 
down  to  the  village  ;  it  was  missis.  She 
sent  him  off  flying,  and  told  him  to 
get  the  boat  and  all." 

Will  and  Anne  looked  at  each  other 
in  surprise. 


260  THE   ICE    RAFT. 

"You  see,  I  couldn't  think  of  any- 
thing else  to  do,  Will,"  said  Mrs.  Bland. 
"If  you  had  been  at  home,  you  know, 
I  should  have  asked  you." 

"  It  was  the  only  thing  to  do,  Aunt 
Sophy  ;  but  I  should  have  thought  you 
would  have  been  so  startled." 

"I  was,  dear;  but,  you  see,  if  I  had 
cried,  or  fainted,  or  anything,  there  would 
have  been  no  one  to  tell  Dick  what  to 
do ;  and  he  was  so  frightened,  poor  boy ! 
no  wonder!  Do  you  really  think  I  did 
what  was  right  ?" 

"  Indeed  I  do,  dear !"  said  Will,  taking 
his  aunt  into  his  arms  and  kissing  her, 
as  he  consigned  Diana  to  Anne's  care. 

"I'm  so  glad  you  do,  dear,"  said  Mrs. 
Bland  in  her  soft  tones.  "  Because  my 
husband  always  said  I  had  more  sense 
than  people  thought,  and  it  pleases  me 
to  have  you  agree  with  him,  you  know." 


A    CONFESSION.  261 

"I  tell  you  what,  Miss  Anne,"  said 
Patty,  in  an  aside,  as  Will  went  down- 
stairs, "  folks  generally  don't  know  what 
missis'  got  in  her.  If  she  could  live 
all  the  time  in  a  house  on  fire  or  an 
earthquake,  she'd  be  an  uncommon  smart 
woman." 

Dr.  Porter  lived  quite  at  the  other 
end  of  the  town;  and,  when  Dick  had 
left  his  message,  and  turned  Pick's  head 
toward  home,  it  was  dark.  Dick's  mind 
was  in  a  tumult  with  sensations  of 
mingled  terror  and  thankfulness.  Only 
one  idea  came  clearly  before  him,  and 
that  was  the  firm  resolution  to  tell  Will 
the  whole  story,  and  let  him  do  what- 
ever he  thought  fit. 

Half  way  toward  home  he  again  met 
Osborne  Briggs. 

"  So  your  sister's  safe  after  all !"  he 
cried  out;  "  and  there's  no  harm  done." 


262  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

"  No  harm  !"  said  Dick,  bitterly.  "  Look 
here,  Osborne,  I  tell  you  straight  out 
— I've  had  enough  of  this.  My  brother 
told  me  to  have  no  more  to  do  with 
you,  and  I  gave  him  my  word.  I  didn't 
keep  it,  more  shame  for  me,  but  I'm  going 
to  after  this." 

"  Dick  Monroe,  if  you  go  and  tell  of 
me  in  this  matter,  you'll  be  sorry  the 
last  day  you  live.  We  may  just  as 
well  keep  it  a  secret.  I.  didn't  mean 
any  harm,  you  know  I  didn't;  and,  I 
dare  say,  Diana  won't  tell  if  you  ask 
her  not.  But,  if  you  let  any  one  know 
how  it  was,  I'll  go  and  tell  your  aunt 
every  word  you  said  about  her,  and 
then  she  won't  leave  you  any  of  her 
money.  She's  an  old  woman  now,  and 
I  should  think  you'd  want  to  keep  on 
the  blind  side  of  her." 

The  idea   of  calculating  on  his  aunt's 


A  CONFESSION.  263 

death  had  never  entered  Dick's  mind. 
He  was  utterly  disgusted.  If  anything 
had  been  wanting  to  confirm  his  resolu- 
tion, Osborne's  speech  would  have  done  it. 

He  drew  himself  up  with  something 
of  his  brother's  manner. 

"  I  shall  save  you  the  trouble,"  he 
said,  trying  hard  to  be  cool,  and  look- 
ing Osborne  straight  in  the  face.  "  I 
shall  tell  my  aunt  and  my  brother  the 
whole.  I  shall  not  blame  you  for  this 
afternoon's  work  as  much  as  I  do  my- 
self; for,  being  in  your  company,  I  have 
been  driven  and  led  by  you  long  enough. 
Let  me  pass,  if  you  please." 

He  drew  the  bridle  from  Osborne's 
hand,  struck  the  pony  with  the  riding 
whip,  and  went  forward  at  a  sharp  pace. 

"I'll  do  it  now,"  said  Dick,  "if  I 
die  for  it."  lie  thought  of  the  conclusion 
of  John's  essav,  and  smiled  to  himself. 


264  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

"  If  a  person's  got  a  hard  thing  to  do, 
the  best  way  is  to  go  at  it  and  stick 
to  it." 

"  I  will,"  said  Dick,  resolutely. 

He  rode  into  the  barn  yard,  threw 
the  rein  to  Primus,  and  walked  into 
the  house  as  if  he  were  charging  a 
battery. 

"Tears  to  me,"  said  Primus  to  his 
father,  "  Master  Dick's  made  up  his 
mind  dreadful  hard  to  something.' 

Simeon  shook  his  head  in  an  oracular 
manner,  and  looked  very  wise  and  mys- 
terious. 

a  Do  you  know  anything  about  it  ?" 
asked  Primus. 

Simeon  shook  his  head  more  solemnly 
than  before,  and  looked  wiser  than  ever, 
giving  the  idea  that  there  was  a  pro- 
found mystery,  and  he  could  unfold 
it  if  he  chose,  but  he  spoke  no  word. 


A  CONFESSION.  265 

"  I  don't  believe  he  knows  any  more 
about  it  than  I  do,"  said  Primus  to  him- 
self. He  was  quite  right,  but  Simeon 
would  never  saj  "  I  don't  know "  to 
his  son.  It  was  his  way  of  keeping 
up^his  authority  and  dignity. 

In  the  meantime  Dick  went  into  the 
house,  and  walked  straight  into  his 
aunt's  room,  where  she  was  sitting  with 
the  Major. 

"  Will,"  he  said,  without  a  word  of 
preface,  "  it  was  all  my  fault  that  Diana 
was  almost  drowned." 

"  Your  fault !"  said  .Will,  surprised. 
"I  thought  she  went  on  the  ice  after 
the  cat." 

"  She  did ;  but  it  was  Osborne  Briggs 
pulled  the  cat  •  from  her,  and  threw 
him  on." 

"  Were  you  with  Osborne?"  asked  Will, 
changing  his  tone. 

23 


266  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

Yes,  sir;  I  was  down  at  the  river- 
side with  him,  and  Diana  came  to  call 
me  in." 

"  Indeed  !"  said  the  Major,  with  gather- 
ing wrath.  "  I  thought  I  had  your  word 
about  that  matter." 

"  You  did,  but  he  met  me  and  came 
home  with  me  this  afternoon,  and  I  was 
afraid  to  let  him  know  what  you  told 
me." 

"Afraid  of  what?  Dick,  don't  make 
me  quite  ashamed  of  you." 

"I  expect  you  will  be  before  I  get 
through,"  said  J)ick,  in  the  same  quiet, 
resolute  tone;  "but  I'm  going  to  tell 
you  all  about  it  now,  whatever  happens." 

There  was  something  in  Dick's  voice 
and  manner  which  made  Will  respect 
him  in  spite  of  his  vexation.  He  said, 
more  calmly,  "  Go  on." 

"I  was    afraid    of  him,"   recommenced 


A  CONFESSION.  267 

Dick,  "because  he  said  if  I  didn't  go 
with  him,  he'd  come  up  here  and  tell 
you  all  how  mean  I  had  been  to  make 
fun  of  Aunt  Sophy,  and  mimic  her,  and 
talk  about  her  as  if  she  hadn't  common 
sense." 

"My  dear!"  said  Mrs.  Bland.  "But 
I'm  sure  you  didn't  mean  any  harm." 

Dick  went  on,  pale  and  determined. 

"  I  talked  very  badly,  and  I  took  off  her 
w.'iys  and  her  talk  to  make  Os borne  laugh. 
I  did  it  ever  so  many  times.  I  thought 
that  was  smart,"  added  Dick,  bitterly, 
"  and  I  was  afraid  and  ashamed  to  have 
you  know  it,  so  I  broke  my  word,  and 
told  a  lie.  I  wouldn't  come  in  when 
Diana  called  me,  because  Osborne  laughed 
at  me,  and  made  me  jealous  of  her,  know- 
ing about  the  procession  of  Bacchus  when 
I  didn't.  So  that's  all.  I  don't  know 
what  I  .deserve.  You  may  give  me  what 


268  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

you  like,  Will.  I  sha'n't  say  a  word 
to  excuse  myself — only  Di  hadn't  better 
know,  because  she'll  be  worried." 

"  I  can't  believe  it  of  you,"  said  Will. 
"I  can't  think  my  father's  son  would 
be  so  mean,  after  all  aunt's  kindness." 

"0!  but  I  am  sure  Dick  meant  no 
harm,"  said  Mrs.  Bland,  patting  Dick's 
hand  affectionately. 

"0,  Aunt  Sophy!"  said  Dick,  with 
a  little  quiver  in  his  voice  for  the  first 
time  ;  "  if  you  wouldn't  be  so  kind  !  If 
you'd  just  box  my  ears,  I'd  thank  you." 

"  My  love,  I  couldn't,"  said  Mrs.  Bland. 
"  I  couldn't  box  the  kitten  when  she  got 
upon  the  table  and  licked  the  butter,  and 
I  am  sure  that  is  worse  than  anything  you 
have  done." 

11  But  you  don't  know  how  bad  I've 
been,  Aunt  Sophy.  I  said  you  were  a 
perfect  fool." 


A  CONFESSION.  269 

"  Well,  my  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Bland, 
placidly,  "  most  people  think  so." 

"  0,  aunt !" 

"  And  dear  Di  is  quite  safe,  and  I  am 
sure,  Dick,  you  were  not  by  when  that 
naughty  boy  threw  poor  pussy  on  the 
ice." 

"No,  not  close  by.  I  had  run  up  on 
the  bank  for  a  stick.  If  I'd  been  down 
there  I  should  have  prevented  it.  But  I 
don't  know,"  said  Dick,  who  had  a  most 
intense  contempt  for  his  own  conduct, 
"  maybe  I'd  have  let  the  poor  thing 
drown  for  fear  of  his  telling  you.  I  was 
such  a  miserable  coward." 

"  But  you're  sorry  now ;  I'm  sure  you 
are,"  said  Mrs.  Bland,  pitying  him. 

"  Sorry !  You  might  say  so ;  you'll 
never  trust  me  again,  Aunt  Sophy,  I'm  not 
worth  it;  I  wonder  I  haven't  stolen  the 
spoons.  I  really  do,"  said  poor  Dick.  "  I 


270  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

suppose  I  should  if  Osborne  had  told 
me." 

"0,  no,  my  dear,  I'm  sure  you  would 
not." 

"  Can  you  ever  forgive  me,  aunt  ?" 

"Of  course,  my  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Bland, 
kissing  him,  "  and  Will  does,  too,  I  am 
sure,"  and  she  looked  imploringly  at  the 
Major,  who  said  not  a  word. 

He  was  very  much  provoked.  He  could 
not  help  feeling  some  contempt  for  his 
brother,  and  made  little  allowance  for  the 
boy's  temptations  and  difficulties.  Dick's 
falseness  to  his  word  had  very  nearly  been 
the  cause  of  Diana's  death,  and  he  did  not 
know  how  to  excuse  him.  "Upon  my 
word,"  he  said,  "  I  never  knew  a  boy  in 
my  life  that  I  thought  deserved  a  flogging 
more  than  you  do." 

"  I  know  that  as  well  as  you,"  said  Dick ; 
"  if  you  are  ready,  I  am." 


A   CONFESSION.  271 

Mrs.  Bland  burst  into  tears  and  held 
Dick's  hand  tight.  "I  can't  have  it,  I 
cannot,  Will,"  she  sobbed.  "  Indeed,  in- 
deed, I  can't.  It  would  kill  me  to  have 
such  a  thing  in  the  house." 

"  We  can  go  to  the  barn,"  said  Dick, 
smiling. 

"  Indeed,  indeed  !"  repeated  Mrs.  Bland, 
"  dear  Dick  did  not  mean  any  harm,  I  am 
sure  he  didn't." 

"Aunt  Sophy,"  said  "Will,  "nine-tenths 
of  the  mischief  in  the  world  is  done  by- 
people  who  don't  mean  any  harm.  I  do 
not  know  what  else  to  do;  I  have  talked 
to  Dick  before  about  letting  this  boy  alone, 
once  after  he  just  missed  shooting  Anne, 
and  once  beside,  he  knows  when.  Then 
he  promised  me  he  never  would  have  any- 
thing more  to  do  with  him.  He  has  dis- 
obeyed me,  and  broken  his  word  of  honor. 
Nothing  that  I  have  said  seems  to  have 


272  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

affected  him  in  the  least.  I  don't  see  but 
what  I  must  do  something;  I  should  not 
feel  justified  in  passing  it  over." 

Mrs.  Bland  rose  and  threw  herself  into 
Will's  arms.  "  But,  indeed,  you  must  not 
punish  Dick,"  she  said,  kissing  him.  "  It's 
almost  Christmas  time,  and  dear  Diana  is 
safe  and  the  pussy  too,  and  really  how 
could  he  tell  Osborne  to  go  home?  I 
couldn't  have  done  it  myself.  Please, 
Will." 

.  «  Very  well,  Aunt  Sophy,  since  you  wish 
it,"  said  the  Major,  who  had  never  struck 
his  brother  in  his  life,  and  was  perhaps 
not  very  sorry  to  avoid  the  threatened 
punishment.  "Go  to  bed,  Dick,  I  don't 
wish  to  say  anything  more  about  it  at 
present.  I  certainly  never  expected  to 
think  of  you  as  I  cannot  help  doing  now," 
and  the  Major  turned  short  round  and  left 
the  room. 


A   CONFESSION.  273 

Dick  went  up  stairs  miserably  unhappy, 
but  his  trouble  had  not  the  sting  in  it 
which  it  would  have  had  before  his  con- 
fession. The  bitterest  part  of  his  sorrow 
was  the  feeling  that  he  had  lost  entirely 
his  brother's  respect  and  confidence.  Anne 
heard  the  story  when  she  came  down 
toward  nine  o'clorX.  She  did  not  blame 
Dick  as  severely  '/3  did  his  brother,  and 
thought  that  Will  had  not  made  sufficient 
allowance  for  the  boy's  perplexities  and 
temptations,  so  far  as  the  late  meeting 
with  Osborne  was  concerned,  or  appreciated 
the  effort  his  confession  had  cost  him. 

Mrs.  Bland  left  them  talking  together, 
and  stole  softly  up  stairs  with  some  sand- 
wiches and  a  glass  of  whipped  cream. 
She  found  them  herself,  without  asking 
Patty,  for  Patty  having  some  way  learned 
the  story  was  inclined  to  be  very  hard 
upon  Dick.  Mrs.  Bland  had  not  been  up 


274  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

stairs  for  six  months  before  this  eventful 
day.  She  listened  for  a  moment  outside 
Dick's  door,  and  heard  a  sob. 

"  The  poor,  dear  child !"  said  Aunt 
Sophy  to  herself,  as  she  turned  the  handle 
and  entered  softly. 

"  My  love,"  she  said,  sitting  down  by 
the  bed  and  kissing  poor  Dick's  averted 
face,  "  I've  brought  you  some  supper." 

"I  can't  eat  anything,  Aunt  Sophy, 
thank  you,"  said  Dick,  with  a  choking 
voice. 

"  Dear  Diana  is  fast  asleep,  with  pussy 
in  the  bed  beside  her,  and  Dr.  Porter 
thinks  she  will  take  no  harm." 

"  It's  no  thanks  to  me  that  she's  not  in 
the  bottom  of  the  river." 

"  My  love,  I  think  you  blame  yourself 
too  much,  indeed  I  do!  How  long  ago 
did  all  this  happen  ?" 

"Before  Will   came  home;  and  I  did 


A   CONFESSION.  275 

other  things,  Aunt  Sophy.  I  read  books 
I  had  no  business  to  touch,  and  hid  them 
away ;  and  Will  found  it  out  and  forgave 
me,  and  I  gave  him  my  word  then  I'd 
never  have  anything  more  to  do  with 
Osborne,  and  I've  broken  it,  and  that's 
what  makes  him  so  angry  with  me." 

"  But  how  could  you  help  it,  dear,  when 
he  followed  you  home  ?"  said  Mrs.  Bland, 
coaxing  him. 

"  Don't  excuse  me,  Aunt  Sophy,  don't. 
I  could  have  got  rid  of  him  easily  enough 
if  I'd  been  a  mind  to,  but  he  said  he'd 
come  up  and  tell  you  all  how  I  talked, 
and  I  felt  so  awful  ashamed  to  have  any 
one  know." 

"But,  Dick,  I  should  not  have  cared 
much  if  he  had.  Boys  will  amuse  them- 
selves, I  know." 

"  Pretty  amusement !"  said  Dick,  bitterly, 
"and  I've  been  ashamed  to  look  you  in 


276  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

the  face  whenever  I've  thought  of  it,  and 
yet  I  do  love  you,  Aunt  Sophy,  indeed  I 
do." 

Mrs.  Bland  tried  to  feed  him  whipped 
cream  with  the  spoon,  like  a  baby,  but 
Dick  was  too  miserable  to  eat.  His  aunt 
began  to  cry,  for  she  thought  a  boy  who 
couldn't  eat  whipped  cream  must  be  in  a 
dreadful  state  of  mind  indeed. 

"  Don't,  aunt,"  said  Dick,  "  don't  mind 
anything  about  me.  I've  made  every  one 
miserable  enough,  without  your  crying," 
and  Dick  tried  to  speak  in  a  very  steady 
voice  and  broke  down  entirely.  "  It 
wasn't  because  I  was  afraid  of  catching 
what  I  deserved,"  he  said,  "  I  don't  want 
you  to  think  I  was  such  a  coward,  but  I 
couldn't  bear  Will  should  know  how  mean 
I  had  been.  And  this  afternoon  when  I 
was  coming  home,  the  most  I  cared  about 
being  perfect  for  the  quarter,  was  because 


A   CONFESSION".  277 

I  thought  he'd  be  so  pleased,  and  now  he 
won't  mind  anything  about  it,  and  he's 
going  away  so  soon.  0!  what  shall  I  do! 
What  shall  I  do !" 

Mrs.  Bland  heard  the  Major's  step  on 
the  stair,  and  she  opened  the  door  and 
called  to  him.  He  came  rather  reluctantly. 
"  See  here,  Will,"  said  Mrs.  Bland,  softly, 
putting  her  hand  on  his  shoulder,  "you 
must  be  kind  to  Dick,  I  am  sure  you  will. 
He  is  so  unhappy,  and  all  his  trouble  is 
that  you  are  displeased  with  him." 

"  I  don't  mean  to  be  unkind,  Aunt 
Sophy,"  said  Will,  who  was  almost  as 
unhappy  as  Dick.  "  I  am  displeased 
and  disappointed  with  him,  and  I  can 
not  help  it,  I  shall  not  know  how  to  trust 
him  again ;  I  am  as  sorry  as  he  can  be  to 
say  so,  but  it  is  the  truth.  All  I  want 
is  to  do  my  duty  in  the  matter." 

"  But  I  don't  want  you  to  do  your  duty," 

24 


278  THE   ICE   RAFT. 

urged  Mrs.  Bland;  "I  want  you  to  kiss  and 
be  friends.  Indeed,  Will,  you  can't  manage 
your  brother  just  as  if  you  were  his 
father,"  added  Mrs  Bland,  sensibly  enough. 

"  He  can  if  he  likes,  Aunt  Sophy,"  said 
Dick. 

"And  I  know  Anne  thinks  just  as  I 
do,"  pursued  Mrs  Bland,  "  and  she  knows, 
I  am  sure.  Only  see  how  clever  she  is, 
with  her  Latin  and  crochet  work  and  all. 
And  it's  most  Christmas  time,  and  dear 
Diana  will  be  distressed  if  Dick  and  you 
are  not  good  friends,  and  so  shall  I ;  and 
there,  Mr.  Lyon  says  he  has  been  perfect 
for  the  quarter." 

"  Will  won't  care  to  hear  anything  about 
that  now,"  said  Dick,  hiding  his  face  in 
the  pillow. 

"  How  do  you  know  that  ?"  said  the 
Major,  with  some  emotion. 

"And  he  is  so  sorry,  and    I'm  sure  it 


A    CONFESSION.  279 

says  in  the  Bible  that  people  ought  to  be 
forgiven  when  they  are  sorry,  really.  And 
Monday  is  Christmas.  Come,  Will,  now 
do  kiss  and  be  friends,"  concluded  Mrs 
Bland,  as  though  talking  to  two  little 
children. 

"Well,  Dick,"  said  the  Major,  setting 
down  on  the  bed,  and  bending  over  his 
brother,  "  let's  make  it  all  up,  and  never 
quarrel  any  more,  like  good  little  boys. 
Shall  we  ?  Come,  let's  do  as  Aunt  Sophy 
says,  kiss  and  be  friends." 

"  0,  Will !"  said  Dick,  brokenly. 

Mrs.  Bland  slipped  out  of  the  room  and 
left  the  brothers  together.  She  found 
Anne  down  stairs,  anxious,  troubled,  half- 
crying. 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know  what  to  do, 
aunt,"  said  poor  Anne,  who  was  miserable 
at  not  being  able  to  agree  with  Will 
entirely,  "  but  it  does  seem  to  me  as  if 


280  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

Will  did  not  make  allowance  enough 
for  Dick." 

"  It's  all  right  now,"  said  Mrs.  Bland, 
settling  herself  in  her  easy  chair ;  "  I  called 
Will  into  Dick's  room,  and  they  have  made 
it  all  up." 

"  0,  thank  you,  Aunt  Sophy.  How 
glad  I  am !" 

"  I  thought  you  would  be,  dear.  Do 
you  know  it  seems  to  me  such  a  for- 
tunate thing  that  your  brother  isn't 
at  all  like  the  young  man  in  the  story 
book  you  read  to  me." 

"  Why  ?" 

"Because  that  young  man  had  'an 
inflexible  will,'  you  know,  and  was 
always  ordering  the  ladies  of  his  family 
about,  and  never  would  do  what  he 
was  asked.  Of  course,  he  was  a  very 
good  young  man,  and  all  that,  but  I 
think  he  would  have  been  a  very  un- 


A  CONFESSION.  281 

comfortable  person  to  live  with.  Will 
is  a  great  deal  nicer;  for  he  is  very  apt 
to  do  what  one  asks  him,  and  I  do  like 
people  who  do  as  they  are  asked — when 
it's  nothing  wrong,  you  know,  of  course." 

The  next  day  Diana  kept  her  bed; 
but  she  was  a  sturdy  little  body,  and 
the  fright  and  the  wetting  seemed  to 
have  left  nothing  behind  them  but  a 
little  hoarseness.  Sunday  she  came 
down  to  dinner,  and  by  Monday  all 
thoughts  of  postponing  the  party  were 
given  up. 

Major  Monroe  and  Anne  sent  Mr. 
Lyon  their  father's  Elzevir  Virgil  for 
a  Christmas  gift,  and  Mrs.  Bland,  hear- 
ing Matthew's  share  in  the  adventure, 
insisted  on  giving  him  a  watch.  For 
the  next  two  weeks  Matthew  was  per- 
petually wanting  to  know  and  tell  the 
time  of  day. 


282  THE    ICE    RAFT. 

The  party  went  off  in  the  most  de- 
lightful manner.  Mr.  Lyon  made  him- 
self most  agreeable,  and  whisked  about, 
John  said,  like  a  streak  of  tame  light- 
ning. 

The  supper  was  admirable,  and  the 
guests  and  the  hosts  pleased  with  each 
other,  and  with  themselves. 

"  Will,"  said  Dick  to  his  brother,  as 
they  stood  together  by  the  parlor  fire, 
after  the  last  good-night  had  been  said, 
"  how  different  all  this  would  have  been 
if  that  cake  of  ice  had  parted  five  minutes 
sooner !" 

"I  can't  bear  to  think  of  that,"  said 
the  Major.  "  It  seems  like  a  miracle 
that  the  child  was  saved.  I  don't  know 
how  to  be  thankful  enough." 

"Nor  I.  Di  says  she  felt  sure  almost 
all  the  time  that  God  would  save  her, 
but  I  didn't  when  I  was  on  my  way 


A  CONFESSION.  283 

down  the  river.  I  made  up  my  mind 
then  I'd  tell  you  the  whole  story." 

"You  were  very  brave  and  straight- 
forward about  that,"  said  the  Major, 
putting  his  arm  over  his  brother's  shoul- 
der. "  I  don't  think  I  did  you  justice." 

"  Yes  you  did ;  but,  Will,  I  do  think — 
any  way  I  hope — this  will  be  a  lesson 
to  me  as  long  as  I  live.  If  Di  had  been 
drowned,  it  would  just  have  been  the 
consequence  of  that  one  silly  fit  of  per- 
versity." 


L  009  532  351    5 


